I'll Follow You Into The Dark
by Lyra Raine Sparrow
Summary: After the Battle of New York, Loki is returned to Asgard to undergo punishment for his crimes. One of which causes him to lose his eyesight. And to add insult to injury, Odin's decided to hand the God of Mischief over to the Avengers, who decide to leave him in Tony's custody for the next little bit of forever.
1. Chapter 1

_A: Technically this started out as a roleplay, first on Omegle then through email. Unfortunately, I became really busy and it ended up dropping and if my partner happens across this, I hope this is okay! I miss you! Anyway, this has a bunch of chapters and all that, hopefully you enjoy it. Also this is on tumblr, so you might have read it there._

* * *

Loki was sitting in his cell, hands folded in his lap as he 'stared' at the other side. His sightless eyes didn't move, he didn't even stand. The punishment had been painful, unnecessary, but Odin insisted that, if he couldn't take his magic away, he would make him harmless in another way.

With time he had learned how to move in his cell without walking on anything, but still darkness was nothing he appreciated.

Anytime Thor, or Fandral, or even Sif came to visit, he cloaked himself with an illusion to hide his condition. Not even Thor realized that none of it was true, the reason why he doubted his brother or anyone else knew what punishment had been thrown upon him.

He didn't even know his fate was being decided, and that nothing more than a simple mortal would come to pick him up.

Once more, when he heard footsteps approaching, he created the illusion of his old self, his brilliant green eyes, always kept hair, and fine clothes, despite his time spent in that cell. And his illusion was sitting on the bed, with a book in his hands, apparently reading.

Tony walks down the corridor trying to act like nothing about this situation bothered him. To be honest his scowl wasn't hidden very well. He wondered who's idea all this was.

Loki's cell was at the end and when he reached it he paused. He wasn't too shocked to see how well the wanna-be god looked. But he knew better. Captivity didn't do anyone good, and if he was being honest, Loki looked _too_ well. It was a moment before he said anything.

"Alright, Rock of Ages, you coming or what?"

Loki's fake eyes remained planted on the book for long moments after the man spoke.

He knew that voice, he remembered his so called 'threat', coming along an offered drink.

Stark. A Midgardian in Asgard. How did Odin even _allow_ it?

Slowly, he turned his head towards the source of the sound, and it actually seemed like the illusion looked at the billionaire.

"Where should I ever go? I believe you have been informed of what has been decided for me," he responded, his voice smooth and lacking all those insecurities and pain that continued going through his head lately.

What did this man even want from him? Where was he supposed to go?

Tony tilted his head slightly, his own eyes raking over Loki's form.

"You weren't told," he realizes. And it only mad the situation worse for him. Sure, Loki was a bad guy, but he wasn't too akin to taking care of hostages.

"Daddy-o, up there, has ordered for your return to Earth in the custody of and Earthling and I drew the short straw." He smirks. "Looks like you get to spend the foreseeable future with me, you lucky duck."

Loki raised his eyebrows. Now, that was unfortunate. He surely did not want to be pitied, so he would have to keep up an illusion 24/7. That sounded extremely tiring, and still it might not work. If he continuously walked into very visible things, it would be hard to explain.

"I see no luck in this," he responded, walking behind his illusion to reach it.

He still looked completely fine, though. Keeping an illusion up on himself was easier than simply creating one.

He reached out his hand, just in time to feel the cell's glass wall disappear beneath his fingers instead of burning him. He walked out, hands folded behind his back. He knew Asgard well enough to be sure he would reach the Bifrost without raising too many suspicions, but it would be worrying once they reached Midgard.

Without a word more to the man, he made his way to the stairs. He could hear footsteps close, and not only Stark's. Guards were there. Of course. They wouldn't let him walk around freely like that. Indeed, they put back in place the usual handcuffs and handed the key to Tony.

"Well, could be worse," Tony admitted clutching the key. "You could be stuck with Green Arrow. He's still not too happy about the whole mind rape thing."

Tony winces at the memory of Clint's reaction when Thor had told them of Odin's decision.

He slides the key into his pocket and follows the guards out of the dungeon, thankful to be leaving the gloominess. "You know, I kinda understand the whole mad grab for power. Especially seeing this place," he gestures around the golden hall and out toward the rest of the city. "I mean, who wouldn't want to rule over all of this?"

Loki decided to completely ignore everything the man said. If only Stark knew how much the God actually _wanted_ to see all that again... he probably would only speak more of how wonderful Asgard was.

Maybe the vengeful side of Stark would come up.

Despite his lack of sight, he walked straight through the rich city, arriving to walk along the bridge that would lead them to Heimdall.

He couldn't hear the guards following anymore. Now that Stark had the key, they knew Loki could not risk to kill him.

Every now and then, on the way, he had to move closer to the walls, brush at them with his fingertips to find something familiar on them that would confirm he was taking the right way. And he was, of course.

When they reached the guardian, Loki smiled. "Good Heimdall. I shall ask you to not check on me more than usual while I'm away," he teased, though a serious question was hidden behind those words.

Heimdall surely knew of his conditions, but he hoped he didn't.

"I will follow my King's orders. Though, today, I shall consider you a Prince leaving Asgard, and as one I shall greet you. Farewell," Heimdall answered, bowing down to Loki though the God, couldn't see him.

"Farewell, Guardian," he responded, walking past him and approaching to the Bifrost, sure that Tony would follow him. And then the bridge was opened, and they were on top of Stark Tower. Now... Now problems would begin.


	2. Chapter 2

Tony giggled like an idiot when they landed, "I'll never get over that. I gotta make myself one of those," he murmurs to himself.

Now, Loki had no idea what he should do. He just felt incredibly out of place. He knew they were in the open air, there was no shadow on them, so there wasn't trees or other buildings, and he could feel they were rather high.

Turning to the other man, Tony pulls the key from his pocket and moves to unlock the cuffs. "You're awfully quiet, Merlin. What? No death threats this time?"

Stark Tower? Most likely. Stark had been very quick in rebuilding it.

His illusion, for how accurate it was, didn't allow him to sense everything, so he took a step back when he felt the other man's warm fingers brushing against his hand while taking off his handcuffs. That was even more surprising, decidedly.

Tony turns around and heads towards the door leading inside, the key being slipped back into the genius' pocket. Loki followed after the sounds of his steps.

He pauses, only intending to look over his shoulder to make sure the god was following him, but something about Loki stopped him entirely.

"Hey, I know what it's like where you're at. Doesn't mean I forgive you for destroying New York and trying to take over the world. But I understand. You don't have to keep up illusions here," he says, although his is unaware of the current one Loki is showing. Suddenly aware of how... _friendly_ that sounded, he opened his mouth again. "It's gonna work like this, you stay out of my way, I'll stay out of yours. If this works out right, we'll never see each other and you can wallow in your self-pity party or whatever it is you plan on doing. Don't touch my stuff and we won't have any problems."

Loki froze at the mention of illusions. _Did he...? _ The worry was brushed away a moment later with the words "see each other, otherwise."

He walked inside, past Stark, but as soon as he was inside... whatever it was, he lay one hand on the first wall he found to understand where he was going. He almost fell down the stairs, but he found his balance again, just in time.

Tony lagged behind for a moment, watching Loki curiously. There was something off about him, he realized that much when he first saw him in the Asgardian cell, though he hadn't the faintest idea what it was. He almost reached out to catch the other man when he stumbled. Of course he didn't, but he did speed up and get ahead of the other.

"Will I have a cell, a room...?" he finally asks, still walking to not arise suspicions.

"A room," Tony answers when he hears the question echo in the stairwell. "Fully furnished and everything. Although, Pepper was distraught about the whole supervillian getting the VIP treatment."

So he was going to have a proper room. Not that it mattered, even if he had that TV Thor seemed to love so much, he wouldn't get to watch it. He couldn't read, he couldn't do many things.

"I don't need 'VIP treatment.' I only require a bed and a shower," he responded.

Tony reaches the landing and turns to go down the next flight of stairs he's struck with a thought. Of of the corner of his eye, he saw Loki stumble again when there wasn't another step. He pushes it off though, he really shouldn't care what the god's problem was.

_That was close_, Loki thinks to himself. He had understood only when he was about to fall that there weren't stairs in front of him, and that was shameful. His remaining four senses should work even better now that he was blind, he should have realized somehow, that he had stairs in front of him.

He would have to think of something to tell Stark if he asked about the mistake. Traveling via Bifrost always bothered him, anyway. It would work if he was being questioned.

"Fourteen," Tony says absently. "There's fourteen steps to a flight of stairs." He's silent for nearly half a second too long for the rest of his statement to sound like it flowed. "The contractor and I got into a conversation about it. Something about being code and blind people tripping. It wasn't that interesting of a conversation. Why there would be a blind person in-" he stops, thinking over what he was going to say. He really shouldn't care.

Loki paused, fourteen steps for blind people? Now, did Stark truly understand?

"Do you really think I care about anything you say?" he asked, trying to be his usual self, though he counted the steps in his mind as he continued his descent.

"You?" Tony scoffs. "Yeah, no. I don't think you could give two shits about what people think of you," he says honestly. "At least not to a degree that it shows."

He's silent for a moment, every now and then glancing over his shoulder. He definitely wasn't making sure the god was okay. _Not at all_.

It was going to be hard, incredibly hard, to keep this whole thing up. The god had arrived five minutes before, and already Stark seemed to know more than he should - or at least suspected. Descending the stairs leaning against the wall with his hand, counting the steps... Everything was far too complicated already. Talking of his conditions would make everything easier upon him, but he didn't want the mortal's pity.

There's two more flights before they reach the level they need. It was the one right beneath Tony's penthouse suite, where there was a whole hall of guest rooms.

Loki followed his voice for reaching the right floor - finally Stark's words had some use.

Unconsciously, the mortal holds the fire door open for Loki when he gets there, though he lets it go the moment he realizes what he's doing. Loki's room is the fourth door on the left from where they were, the closest room to the lift. He pulls a key ring from his pocket and dangles it. There's a little black key fob and little goat keychain.

"The key fob will let you into your little apartment, the building and the elevator. Although, you're only allowed on the top three floors and aren't allowed out of the building unless me or another one of the Avengers escorts you. Upstairs of course is my suite, where you threw me out my window, and the floor below is the gym and pool and stuff like that. Knock yourself out," he says tossing the keys to the god.

Even if he was allowed to go somewhere else as well, he wouldn't He would remain in his room, where he could hope to have some privacy, and he would learn to live there. It really made no difference from this and his situation in Asgard. He couldn't go around, this time it'd be willingly. Sooner or later he would betray himself. Probably sooner than later.

He was pretending to be looking around when something was thrown at him, only hitting his chest for then falling to the floor. Of course. He hadn't seen it coming. And now? How could he pick it up? He leaned down, and touched the floor in hope to find it immediately, but fate was against him. He sighed and closed his eyes. "...Where is it?"

Loki's actions only confirm the faint suspicion he already fingered and Tony crouches down to pick up the keys inches from Loki's fingers with one hand. The other goes for the God's hand, which he turns palm up so he can place the item in his palm. He doesn't say anything as he stands, not wanting Loki to be angered. He can see the resolve slowly fading in him.

Loki's first instinct was of moving his hand away as soon as Stark touched him, but when it was just the key, he held it and stood back up. He wouldn't really need it, it wasn't like he could reach any place in the Tower in that conditions, anyway, and he couldn't accept Stark's help; it was already humiliating in this way.

But he broke the illusion, anyway. There was no reason to keep it up anymore. His hair was much more unkempt, long locks falling upon his face. His once green eyes were not white, just the shade of his pupil still visible. All around his eyes, there were the red signs left by the poison used for blinding him.

"I, uh..." What was he supposed to say? 'I'm sorry Pops blinded you' or maybe 'Sight isn't all that it's cracked up to be'? That was surely going to get him thrown from another window. "I'll let you get settled in then." Well that works.

Tony only saw a brief glimpse of Loki's true appearance and his chest tightened with it. He'd never be able to understand how anyone could do that to a person on purpose, let alone someone they once called a son. He turns and walks toward the elevator. If Loki was blinded... well, then this was going to be a long foreseeable future. He winced at the word. Sonovabitch, this was going to be hard.

When Stark said he would leave, he lay his hand on the wall to find the door and, when he found it, he tried to open it, managing to do it only at the second attempt. This was going to be much harder than he thought.


	3. Chapter 3

Once Loki finally made his way into the room, he shut the door behind him and leaned against it, breathing deeply. This was not going to be easy at all. If it wasn't now that Stark was there, how would it be once he would be visited by the others? He wasn't looking forward for meeting Barton again.

He accidentally kicked a few things while trying to reach his bed. Something that he hadn't understood yet what it was, the bedside table... But he managed to throw himself on the bed with open arms. He took only a minute to relax, and then curled up under the sheets. It was a comfortable bed, very warm... And the walls weren't made of glass, which meant he was going to have a little of privacy.

He slept for long hours and when he woke, he had no idea what time it was. He just stood and leaned against the wall, trying to find a door that wasn't the one that would make him go out. When he found one and he opened it, he looked for something helping him to identify the place, and he found a sink.

Marvelous, he could use a shower. Discarding his clothes to the floor, he stepped into the shower and managed to open the water to a pleasantly warm temperature. When he was done, fresh clothes appeared on his body, his leather pants and a green shirt.

_Now, what to do_? Venture outside his room for studying the place? He should before Banner or Barton happened to be around. Finding the door again, he made his way out. He probably made only it a few steps before he stumbled on something and he started muttering some curses in Norse.

* * *

Tony had tinkered in his workshop for the rest of the day and late into the night, only retiring when JARVIS alerted him he hadn't slept in 36 hours. He only got a few hours of fitful sleep, falling victim to the same nightmares from the battle a year ago.

Without Pepper there to comfort him, he finds himself unable to to fall back asleep. There was only an hour before he had to get up, what difference did it make?

He found himself sipping at a cup of coffee thirty minutes later wondering if Loki ever got settled in. He shouldn't go see. And he wouldn't. At least, not until noon.

He was angry when Thor had first told him of the All-father's ruling, ticked off when he'd literally drawn the short straw, but knowing Loki's (for lack of a better word) condition now, he was glad to have been put in charge of the God. There was no telling just how the rest of the team would have used the issue against him, just that they would have and it certainly wouldn't have been pretty.

After finishing his coffee and placing the cup the sink, he finds his way down to the pool. He sat on the bottom wondering just how long he could manage to stay below. Every time he went under, he'd try for a longer time. He kept his eyes open for the 90 or so seconds, despite the stinging of chlorine. Every time he shut his eyes the worm hole stared back at him. Eventually it became too much. His eyes were red and irritated and his vision was cloudy above the water.

He climbs out of the water murmuring to JARVIS about some ideas he had for the new suit, telling the AI to remind him when he eventually made it to the workshop. For now he toweled his hair dry, making his way to the locker room that joined the pool and gym with the intent on showering. He glances at a clock hanging over the lockers, noticing the time and wondering if it would be okay if he checked on his guest.

Not that he cared. Because he didn't.

* * *

Holding the key in his hand, Loki tried to find his way to the stairs, wanting to reach a kitchen or anything else that could provide him food. He couldn't take the lift, who knew what floor he would reach. So, counting the steps, he reached the upper floor, hands in front of him in the attempt to find something to guide him.

For a long, scary moment, Loki wondered if those two Avengers most of all he preferred to not have in front of him, were actually around the Tower. But he was hopeful Stark would have told him if they weren't alone.

His legs met the couch, instead, and he fell upon it. Growling in rage, he stood again and tried to find the kitchen. It took about ten minutes, but he finally reached a room that seemed to have a stove, so he should be there. Yes. And now? What would he look for, if he couldn't really look at all? He would need Stark to learn to know this place good enough to move on his own.

Sighing, he found a chair and sat down, taking his head in his hands.

Tony, who'd quickly showered and dressed before his stomach had growled at him reminding him that one cup of black coffee was not a proper breakfast and that he'd regret not eating soon, was almost surprised to see Loki slumped over at the table with his head in his hands. It occurred to him then, that the god was suffering more than he originally had thought.

"Fancy seeing you here," Tony said trying to keep the atmosphere light. He winced a second later realizing what he said. He walks over to the fridge looking for something and settling for an apple. "Did you want something in here?"

As soon as he heard Stark's voice, the illusion that made him look normal was up again.

"Is there anyone with you?" he asked, not bothering to pretend he was looking at him. That was when he realized what Stark said, and he shook his head slightly. He surely was not the most delicate Midgardian this realm had ever seen. When he heard no more voices nor footsteps, the illusion dropped once more, revealing his rather chaotic look. It was not easy to take care of his appearance when mirrors were useless to him.

"Tea. I wanted some tea," he muttered in response.

Tony nods. "Okay," he says.

Somewhere in the back of a cabinet, the billionaire finds the kettle Pepper had left months ago. He fills it and sets it on the stove to boil. He snags a mug from another cabinet and a tea bag from the cabinet where he kept his coffee. Suddenly he was glad that he kept it all after Pepper had left him.

Every now and then, Loki's eyes burned a little. It wasn't so long he had been injured, and he still suffered from the wounds. Physically. Mentally, he would never stop suffering for it.

He tried to listen to every sound for understanding where Stark kept the tea and all the rest he thought he had just taken, where the stove was, the sound it made when it was on... His ears were all that could help him.

"So," Tony begins as he sits across from Loki, waiting for the whistle of the steam, but pauses when he realized he had no idea what to say. He's silent for a long moment. "I'm at a loss," he finally admits. "I have no idea how to help you out. And I can't exactly let you run into walls and couches and trip down stairs. I'm pretty sure that like involuntary torture. You'll probably bite my head off if I offer to help you..." He drifts off with the sound of the kettle boiling. He stands and goes to fix the cup of tea the god had asked for.

"It would not be so convenient, for biting your head off I would need to ask you to get close enough." he tried to joke, though there was no sound of humor in his voice.

"Did you want milk and sugar?" he asks, his mind's eye flicking back to when he would ask Pep the same. "Or honey?"

"Nothing. Just teas." he responded, shaking his head. He stretched out his arm for taking the cup.

Tony brought the cup to Loki's hand, brushing the back of his hand against the god's. "I'm sure it doesn't need to be said, but the mug is hot." He only pulled his hand away when he was sure Loki had grasped the mug firmly enough.

_Dammit_. It _did_ burn, far too much. He was a Frost Giant, after all, and too hot things bothered him quite enough, but he held the mug tightly despite the instinct of moving his hand away as soon as Stark touched him.

"I left the kettle on the stove, the back right burner. The knob for that burner is the second from the right. Tea is in the overhead cabinet to the left of the sink. Mugs and other dishes are in the cabinet to the right of the sink," he pauses realizing what he was doing. "If you need anything else just call out to JARVIS. He'll help you. As far as he's concerned, you're a welcomed guest."

It was true Stark was helping him, but how could he know if he could trust the man if he could not even see on his face when he lied or not? He memorized every instruction he was given, though, sipping the hot tea quietly.

"I am not supposed to be comfortable here. I should have just been moved from a cell to another. Why are you helping me?"

Tony remained quiet as he thought over his answer. In all honesty, he hadn't a fucking clue as to why he was being helpful. He takes a bite of his apple, chewing slowly trying to sort out possible reasons. But he couldn't think of one. Not one that made any sense. Somehow he managed to string words together for an explanation.

"It's got to be terrifying to lose any of your senses. Sight probably the leader of that list. I know what it's like to be limited." He sighs and when he speaks he tries to put as much sincerity in his voice as he could. "What happened to you, what's still happening to you. I couldn't do it. I couldn't be as calm as you are in your position." He chuckles softly to himself. "I'd say I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, but you sorta own that title at the moment."

He pauses, looking over Loki's disheveled appearance. "Your eyes are naturally green, aren't they? I think Thor said something like that. But but that day, when you threw me out of the window, I coulda sworn they were-" he stops and looks down at the red fruit in his hands.

"What? Blue?" He gave a dry chuckle at that.

"Yeah," he murmured, sudden feeling embarrassed that he'd noticed something so trivial. He looks up at Loki, semi-glad he couldn't see the blush heating his face. It was bittersweet.

Stark never knew him with his naturally green eyes if not because of the illusion he played the previous day. And he noticed it. Thor hadn't noticed, how his eyes had changed color.

It had not been like with Selvig and Barton, Loki still had some sort of control of himself, but the greatest decisions... they were not his. It was not the God controlling the Tesseract. Thanos decided to put Loki under its influence as well for being sure he wouldn't betray him, but for Loki it was a matter of living or dying.

_You will long for something as sweet as pain_.

He had not much choice, he had to give him the Tesseract. But well... Knowing that Thor loved Earth encouraged him as well, honestly.

"It's not being limited. Being limited is when you want to do something but you know that it's better not, or when you have something, but it's not enough. This is something that has been forced upon me. If you meant that time you spent in... what was it? Afghanistan? You weren't limited. You had your chance to escape. I can't escape this."

Tony chewed on the inside of his cheek as he listened to Loki's counter argument.

"I was trying to avoid using the word "handicapped." And that's exactly what we are. You with your faulty eyesight and me with my faulty heart. And I never escaped. Part of me is still in that cave. Lying next to Yinsen, knowing any second I could be killed. Yeah, I had my mind, my genius, but they had me hooked to a goddamned car battery." He clenches his fist and bangs it on the table in an effort to chase away the oncoming anxiety attack.

"I didn't escape. I overcame an obstacle." He pushes away from the table, tossing his apple in the trash suddenly not hungry.

"Mh," he muttered, still sipping his tea. His sightless eyes were staring right in front of him, and he wondered what was it that he should be seeing now. He'd be wondering this for the rest of his life.

He winches when the table moved under Stark's fist, and he removed his elbow from there to not have hot tea falling on him.

"That is not a limitation. That is a decision. Part of you is still there because you can't forgive yourself you survived and he didn't, and you _decided_ to not forgive yourself. Don't you _dare_ say it's not true. I know how it feels like," Loki tells.. When he heard Stark moving he turned his head towards the source of the sound, as if he was actually looking at him.

"_You weren't there_," Tony growls, his voice dangerously low. And that's all he says before storming out off the room.

"I wasn't, but I told you, I _know_ how it feels like." He repeated, but he heard Stark's quick footsteps leaving the room and he leaned against the back of the chair, still holding the mug in his hand even when it was empty. His kid had been killed because of him. He knew how it felt like. Before he could realize it, he was holding the mug so tightly it broke in his hand, and he could feel the blood upon it.

Groaning, he stood and somehow made his way out of the kitchen without laying his bloody hand upon the probably white wall, and tried to find the bathroom, but he stumbled on something, in the living room, a coffee table, maybe. Somehow, this was too much for him to bear. He sat down on the floor with his knees pulled to his chest. Now uncaring of the cuts in his hand, he wrapped his arms around his legs and buried his face in them.


	4. Chapter 4

_A: Updates for this story are Tuesdays and Thursdays. So far I have 18 chapters down. I think in total there were like upwards of eight to nine hundred emails exchanged. Yeah, it's a lot. Anyway onward!_

* * *

Loki's words shouldn't bother him, Tony knows this. The man threw him out his window for fuck's sake. But they do. Of course they do, they were true. Yinsen shouldn't have died in that cave. He shouldn't have tried to hold off the terrorists. It wasn't that big of a difference. They both could've survived. His fist slams on to his workbench, anger coursing through him. He didn't even realize he'd made it down to his workshop. Loki really shouldn't have this effect on him.

Tony had stayed in the workshop for the rest of the day. It wasn't until JARVIS had startled him awake just shy of midnight, did he realized how long he'd been working. His back hurt from his constant crouching over the smaller components and his fingers hurt from the many burns received while soldering said small components.

He meandered into the lift, his hands rising to cover his face and swipe at the stress that was evident on it. He hadn't had his normal nightmares, and couldn't quite recall exactly when his so-called dream was about, only remembering a pair of frightened green eyes staring at him.

The doors opened with a small ding and he stepped into his living room, mumbling to himself to get a grip as he half stumbled to his room.

Loki was totally unaware of how much time he spent there. He tried to count the minutes, hoping it would calm him down, but then he realized that, anyway, even if he knew for how long he sat there, he wouldn't know anyway what time of the day it was, if it was day or night, not even in which part of the room he currently was, and he gave up, becoming even more nervous.

Thinking of Vali hadn't been helpful to him at all. Only because Stark said he saw him far too calm, it did not mean he was not going mad inside. He was just incredibly good at hiding what he felt. After all, he still could lie.

When he heard the lift's doors opening behind him, and Stark's voice muttering something, he didn't move at all. So, it was probably dark, and since Loki obviously didn't turn on any light, he was hopeful he would be unnoticed. Though, during the night - still if his suppositions were right – he would have to try to find his way back to his room.

There was just enough time before the doors shut to see a mess of black hair huddle into himself by the coffee table. Tony stopped in his tracks. His half asleep mind thinking about those frightened green eyes, and something about the whole fucked up situation in general, brought Tony over to the god, plopping in the spot next to him.

Of course. As if he wasn't already in a terrible situation, he was not even a bit lucky. Couldn't Stark be sleepy enough to not notice him?

"You alright, Lokes?" he asks with a yawn. "How long have you been sitting here?"

"I am fine." he responded, hiding his injured hand from the man's sight. He just buried it in his crossed arms. "I don't know." He shrugged carelessly.

He wanted to point out that his name was not Lokes, but he really didn't feel like arguing for something so silly.

"For how long have you been gone? Five minutes less than that, I guess."

If the place was anything as he remembered it to be during the attack, there should be windows on the other side of the room.

"I was just admiring the view," he tried to joke, dropping his chin on his arms.

"You've been sitting here for eight hours?" Tony wonders shocked. He chuckles though, quietly to himself.

"So it seems." he responded.

Eight hours. Less then what he thought, honestly. Spending all that time in that cell, in Asgard, made him forget what time really was. It was no different now.

"Come on, Wicked Witch of the West, let's get you to your room so I don't have to worry about you falling down the stairwell." He stands up and ruffles Loki's hair. And if anyone asked him about his actions this night, he'd deny everything, or blame it on being drunk.

"I don't know what you mean with 'Wicked Witch of the West', but I sense I should be offended." And annoyed. No one ever touched his hair. He didn't even know why it bothered him that much, it never did when it was Frigga doing it. But she never ruffled it into some sort of black mess.

"My hand's at your two o'clock," Tony admits, "if you want help up. And I'm waiting for you to toss me out the window any moment now."

He did lay his hands on Stark's for getting up, forgetting entirely about the dried blood upon one of them.

"I gladly would, actually. Would you mind telling me exactly where the window is?"

"I'm offended that you didn't get the reference," Tony says as he pulled the god up, surprised at how easy it was. "Even Sleeping Beauty would've gotten that one." He chuckled. "Nice try, Lokes. But that it one thing I'll forever refuse to show you." He hadn't let go of his hand quite yet and he pulled on it to tell Loki to start moving. "If you take hold of my elbow, it'll be easier for us to get around," he explains.

"Is it so hard for you to use real names?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, crossing his arms to his chest. It was not something he appreciated, being called something he didn't know. Even Sleeping Beauty... He might suppose it was about Rogers, considering what Barton told him of the Soldier, but it was only because of the 'Sleeping' part.

"I won't fall that low, Stark. I can easily follow your voice." he responded, taking his hand back from the man and doing as he said. "I only have to learn the place better, that is all."

"Fine," Tony said. "If you want me me to use real names, then you have to call me Tony. "Stark" makes it sound like I'm a soldier. And "Man of Iron" is just weird," he adds as a second thought. His composure falls a little when Loki slips his hand away.

"I didn't mean it to be like that. It's not about degrading you or anything. I just... dated this... girl my third time through college. He'd been blind her entire life, and though she could get around her apartment just fine without help, she preferred holding onto my elbow when she was in unfamiliar places, rather than using his walking cane." He frowns. "I just thought you might like the notion. Sorry."

He walks towards the lift. "Come on then, m- Loki. Follow my voice. In about ten steps there's two short steps, so don't trip."

Loki let out a short, amused chuckle. He might be blind, but not deaf, and Stark got very confused while talking. "Was it a girl or a boy? You have been going from 'she' to 'he' continuously. You dated _her_, _he_ was blind for _her_ whole life, _she_ could get around, _his_ walking cane. I won't judge you for dating a man, Stark. We all all homosexual once in a while. Some more than others." he commented, following after Stark's voice.

"I'm just tired," came his excuse. Tony tried refraining from saying _he_ because _he_ reminded him a lot of Loki. Or vice versa. "Both actually. Sometimes _he_ felt like a _she._ Their pronoun depended on the day. And I wouldn't care if you judged me or not. Why the hell would I?"

Loki stumbled on the two short steps, as if he hadn't been worried, and luckily enough Stark was close enough for him to grab his arm before falling.

"Don't you dare saying a word." He immediately warned him, pointing a threatening finger towards him. "Now, how was it that you were calling me?"

Tony smirked and chuckled, patting Loki's hands with his free one. "Don't worry about it, Lokes." He steps into the elevator, waiting until Loki was fully in before he hit the button for the level below.

"No matter what you say, everyone care about the others' judgments." he commented, 'glancing' quickly at the man, before returning to stare at the emptiness when the elevator moved.

"All of us?" Tony wonders with a raised brow and a devilish smirk. "For some reason, I can't imagine you ever getting horizontal with a dude." He shrugged. "Then again," he draws out, "you are kinda feminine." He reaches up and tugs on the ends of Loki's hair. Briefly, there's a thought in the back of his mind wondering what the hell he was doing. Just because Loki was blind, didn't mean he was harmless.

Now, what was it? Stark was getting too friendly – if he wanted to use an understatement, Stark was taking too much confidence with him. Saving his hair from Stark's hand and pulling it on his front to keep it safe, he stepped out of the lift as soon as it stopped and he heard the doors opening.

"Believe it or not, I am one of those 'some more than others'. I surely prefer men to women." How did they even happen to be talking about sex? But then again, if what he knew of Stark was true, there was not way it would not happen.

Tony paused just outside the doors, coughing to to cover up his surprise and hurriedly returning to his spot beside Loki. "Didn't see that one coming."

They walked the short distance to Loki's door and Tony had to reach out and snag Mr. High-and-Mighty's wrist when he has passed the door. Or rather he didn't have to, he realized, and let go immediately.

"Door's back here," Tony mumbled as he leaned against the door frame. He crosses his arms, trying to be nonchalant. He yawns. "I guess this is it. I had a really nice time tonight," he jokes. "I'd like to do this again. Maybe we could go to that little Italian place down the block."

When he was stopped for walking past the door, Loki closed his eyes a moment and sighed. This was becoming so embarrassing, for more than he thought. Needing help for retiring to his bedroom was something he could not stand. Returning to where Stark directed him, he took the key from his pocket and opened the door – second try, again. They key was on the wrong side.

"Has anybody ever told you how not funny you are?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, pushing the door open. "Joke or not, I refuse to go to a public place like..." he started, but he wasn't able to continue. He was ashamed of how he looked. That was the first time for him, in his long life. Not even for being blind itself, but for the still vivid red signs around his pearl-white eyes. "Good night." He just said then, walking inside the room.

"Night," Tony responds hanging his head.

Loki quietly shut the door behind him and made his way to the bed. In his short time there, he had at least understood how to reach his bed and the shower without stumbling on anything, which was already good.

He didn't even undress, he just curled up in the middle of his bed and shut his eyes. He wasn't tired and he knew he wouldn't sleep. He just thought to anything that might come to his mind. His imagination was the only thing that still allowed him to see.

Outside, Tony's chest tightens and he clenches his fist to fight off what he thought was another panic attack. That was three today. He stood there for a while controlling his breathing. When the tightness receded, he left for his room once more, deciding to ignore anything else that tried to grab his attention.

His dreams were different again but he still couldn't remember them when JARVIS woke him early the next morning.

"_Sir, I wish to inform you that Director Fury and Captain Rogers will be here in one hour for your meeting. Mr. Laufeyson's presence is requested as well._"

Tony groans and rolls out of the bed. "Alert the Princess if it too, would ya J?"

"_Of course, Sir._"

* * *

When he heard a voice in the morning, he sat up immediately, his eyes wide despite the lack of sight, and he tried to understand if it was a threat. But that was probably the Jarvis Stark talked about. A meeting with Fury and Captain Rogers. Not good at all.

Sighing, he stood and went for a shower. Once he was done, he somehow managed to reach the living room again. He almost fell to the floor at one point, but he reached the couch with no wounds. And the illusion was pulled back up. He didn't think the 'pure and rightful' Captain America would say anything of his conditions, but he couldn't bet on it for Fury, and he wouldn't let the Director see him like that. Now, he only waited for Stark.

Tony was unsurprised to see Loki sitting on the couch when he came out of his room freshly showered and dressed in old jeans and an AC/DC tee.

"Did you want a cup of tea or breakfast before we leave for the meeting? If you want, we could go full continental and make Mom and Dad wait." He chuckles to himself, pausing by the couch.

Loki barely moved from his spot when Stark spoke. He was actually hungry, the last time ha ate anything he was still in Asgard, but he felt like if he would throw up if he ate now. He really didn't want to meet Fury and Rogers. "After, maybe. I would prefer to go, now. The sooner it starts, the sooner it's over," he commented.

"Does your hair still ruffle with your illusions?" He asks tempted to reach his hand out to muss the dark tendrils again. He was going to have a thing for messing with Loki's hair, he could just feel it. In his defense, it was soft and silky.

Loki gave him a threatening gaze – with the illusion, it worked much better even if he couldn't see him. "Please, do it. It will be much easier for me to find your wrist and break it if you touch me." He warned him. Anyway, that morning he took his time making his hair a little better, so the only illusion was his eyes.

Tony chuckled. "Sorry. I'll have to pass on that." He headed for the elevator pausing when he reached the two small steps. "Ten steps," he said remembering. "Your legs are longer than mine so it's probably more like eight steps once you come around the couch before you hit the steps here." He closes the distance between himself and the lift and leans against the door, a picture of relaxation.

When he heard Stark moving again, Loki stood and walked towards him. He counted the steps, though he walked cautiously until he had reached the man by the lift.

"I'm assuming with the illusion up, you don't want anyone else finding out about your... Sightless-ness? I'm not so sure how well it'll go over when they find out that I know. And they will find out. You're like Bambi trying to move around."

"If they find out, just tell them I asked you to not speak of it. Since I have to live here for some time, it's simply easier if you know. But since Odin didn't consider it necessary either to inform Thor of what happened, I can't see how telling this to Fury and Rogers would be important at all." As soon as the lift made the sound announcing it had arrived, he stepped in and leaned against the wall behind him, his arms crossed to his chest.

"It's not," Tony agreed. "But try telling that to Fury." He steps into the elevator moving into the corner after hitting the button for a floor about halfway down the Tower.

"Would you please stop making references I clearly can't understand? How am I supposed to know who Bambi is?"

"Oh come on, that's half the fun in making the reference. Bambi is a very iconic children's movie that everyone has seen and cried over at least once." Tony copies Loki's stature and leans into the corner with his arms crossed. "If you're going to get your feathers all ruffled every time I reference at something, then maybe we should plan a day to get you caught up on Earth culture. You might actually laugh at some of the things that come out of my mouth if you knew what I was talking about."

"Well, maybe you forgot about it, but I am not a Midgardian, I didn't grow up watching these movies, and surely I will never watch them in the future." he responded.

Now, he only wanted this to be over so that he could return to his room as soon as possible. Meeting those two was nothing he planned to do anytime soon since he arrived. Learning how to reach anything, how to walk around the place without stumbling on everything, that would have been something he would have appreciated before meeting anyone else. He could barely stand Stark now.

Tony rolls his eyes. "If you're to spend any amount of time on "Midgard" or whatever you gods call it, then I would definitely check it all out, if I were you. It's an important part of life." Tony smirks. "One might say the Circle of Life."

"Anyway, I doubt I would laugh at anything you say. You are not as funny as you think you are."

"I'm fucking hilarious, you just have no sense of humor. I think your hair has something to do with it." He clears his throat to cover up the fact that he had tried to reach out and tug on Loki's hair again. Thankfully the lift stopped. "The conference room is the third door on the right," he says as he steps out. "Since you're more keen to run you hand along the wall than to take my elbow."

"How could I ever catch up on movies now?" He growled in responded. Considering how Stark chuckled, he guessed he just made unfunny joke about one of those movies. He only knew what a movie was because of Thor, who continued repeating how marvelous they were since apparently Jane Foster made him watch plenty.

"Can't you just ignore my hair for five minutes?!" he snapped, turning to 'look' at him for a moment.

"I like your hair," Tony admits, before silently berating himself.

Loki's eyes, the brilliant emerald they were, seemed to be trained directly on him sending a shiver down Tony's spine. There was something going on with himself. It started long before he had to pick up his new charge, or at least he thought it did, but now it was only getting worse. Maybe he should talk to Banner again. Though decidedly without Macbeth. Huh, Loki'd probably like Shakespeare. Even without his sight. He'd like the story behind it all... Tony shakes his head.

Loki frowned at the statement. Stark was weirder and weirder with every minute that passed by. Getting mad for nothing, then making dd references, and now saying he liked his hair. What was wrong with this man? Though, he was a little flattered – maybe.

Moving his hand on the right until he found the wall, and he walked past the first two doors. Before opening the third, though, he waited. He didn't know if they were in already and he preferred to not get in first. He could understand where chairs were too, if Stark moved one first. And, if he had to be honest, he would feel a little more protected with Stark getting in first.

Tony shuffles past the Asgardian to take a seat. "So what's up Big Brother?" he wonders glancing at the Captain who was sitting across the table as he put his feet up. "Where's dad?"

Loki took a silent, deep breath, and then he followed Stark into the room. Short steps, his arms along his sides but with his hand a little outside for catching the chair as soon as he found it. Maybe he could make it, pretending he was alright. He pulled back the chair and sat upon it, crossing his arms to his chest then.

Cap had only glared at Tony. "Get your feet off the table. Fury will be here any minute."

"Captain." he greeted coldly, turning his apparently working eyes upon the soldier.

The super soldier hadn't bothered to glance at Loki when he replied with a cool; "Loki."

Tony sighed heavily and put his feet down. The table was too high for the position to be comfortable anyway. "The one time I'm actually on time and Fury's the one who's late." He didn't bother to mention that he was only on time because Loki had wanted to be.

"Relax, Stark," the Captain said. "Honestly, no one ever expects you to show up on time. You were late saving the world."

The billionaire rolled his eyes. "I happen to have directed a nuke into a wormhole so that world wasn't taken over by this jack ass," he says jerking his thumb to point it at Loki.

Thankfully, Fury walked in at that moment. And the no-fun-and-games meeting got started. Mainly it just had to do with Tony's brief trip to Asgard (really cool) and his meeting with Odin (Boring as hell) and if he was having any trouble with the troublemaker (not really, they've been avoiding each other a lot).


	5. Chapter 5

_A: Please forgive if the English sounds a little off. My partner in this is Italian. Their first language obviously not English, but I liked the refreshingness of it. It is proper grammar, according to Chrome and Word, however, I've had to update my dictionary a lot._

* * *

As soon as he was so clearly insulted and felt the air shifting next to him, Loki immediately reached out to grab anything of Stark he could find and possibly break it, finding his finger. He was already on the point on hurting him enough to make him stop giving free insults around, that he heard new footsteps inside, boots. Ironically, Loki seemed to be the ant, now. he didn't even bother to greet Fury, he just let go of Stark's finger and crossed his arm again.

He was rather glad he was being totally ignored, even though this meeting might have taken place without him as well in this way. He just 'looked' around, snorting every now and then, creating little flames in his hand that were frozen and disappeared after.

He was just growing increasingly bored. Even listening to Thor speak might have been more entertaining than listening to Fury subtly insulting Tony... subtly insulting him as well. He didn't know much Midgard, but he was not fool enough to not understand. After all, he couldn't expect to be treated differently

The meeting only lasted a little while longer, ending when Tony pushed away from the table saying something along the lines of, "I think that's all the information you can milk out of me, Nicky."

Fury had grumbled and rolled his eye and took the magazine he had held the length of the meeting and slid it across the table toward the god.

"Here's your housewarming gift, Real Power," the Director said, like he was proud he remembered.

Loki kept his arms crossed to his chest and his fake eyes right on the man. In this way, he would see that Loki was not taking it in some sort of challenge, not because he couldn't neither see what it was.

Without thinking about it, Tony reached for the tabloid in front of Loki, his hand brushing against the other man's hair. Now that time it was accident, but it still bothered Loki. "Come on," Tony whines as he flips through the gossip mag, "they could've at least used a better picture of me."

"Is it even possible to have a good picture of you?" He teased, pushing back the chair and standing.

Tony laughs. "Oh, you would know. I'm very photogenic. We could test that out later."

He scopes out the rest of the booklet as he walks to the door, still grumbling under his breath about the picture.

"You coming, Juliette?" Well, damn, that made him Romeo.

"Farewell, Captain." he greeted Rogers, without giving a hint of consideration to Fury. He followed Stark's voice out of the room and kicked the door closed behind him.

"Oh, yes. I am surely going to _see_ how photogenic you are, later. Now, my name is very short and easy to remember. Will you just use it?!"

He flips through to the end of the mag just in time to hit the up arrow on the elevator. "Your name is weird," Tony says. "but, it fits you though." The lift doors opened and he stepped in. "You're pretty strange too, _Loki_." He puts extra emphasis on the name, and actually if he was being honest, he liked it. He like the way it just flowed from his mouth. Kinda like Tony. Tony just flowed from the mouth too.

As soon as Loki heard the doors closing and he felt safer, the exhausting illusion broke, revealing him once more for who he truly was now. And that, yes, his hair actually looked great that morning.

"My name is not weird only because you don't hear it often," he responded, leaning against one of the walls. He didn't fight being called 'strange', though. He was used to much worse, now.

Tony smirks. "You have a very sarcastic personality. I'm sure under different circumstances, we'd have gotten along great." Actually, he's pretty positive they would have. They would have bonded over their deadbeat dads and naturally sarcastic nature and their two syllable names. He doesn't say any of this aloud, knowing it would only tick Loki off.

"Or we would have killed each other much more gladly."

Tony shook his head. "No, I don't think we would have. We wouldn't be BFFs or anything. But I wouldn't have killed you, or wanted you dead. You're too fun to mess with."

He goes back over into the corner and crosses his arms. "So are you up for breakfast now?"

As soon as breakfast was named, Loki could hear his own stomach grumbling. Yes, he would use some food now. "Breakfast sounds great."

He doesn't say anything the rest of the ride and only moves when the doors open into his suite.

"So what did you want to eat?" he wonders as he walks to the kitchen. The mess from Loki's stint with the mug it still there. But he doesn't ask, only raises a brow before cleaning it up.

Now, he was learning to know the area composed of the living room and kitchen – more or less – so, almost with no difficulties, he managed to follow Anthony to the kitchen without laying against any wall. Though, when they reached the room, he tried to find the first chair as soon as possible and sat down.

"I'm not too picky on food. Anything will be fine."

It was annoying, having Stark doing everything for him. Of course, if he conquered this Realm and Stark was a slave, it would have been most pleasant. But that was not the case.

"Just tell me where I can find something that doesn't need to be cooked and I will think to my own needs."

Tony turns toward the fridge. There's eggs, ham and a green bell pepper that he pulls out and after a second of searching he finds half an onion. "Do you not trust me to not poison you?" Tony asks with a small chuckle. "I mean, I obviously have an upper hand here. It would be too easy for me to slip something into your tea and you'd never know. Though, you without a doubt could smite me from where you sat if you did ever find out."

He pulls a knife, cutting board and a skillet from various cabinets and starts to make his omelet. "I don't know if I like the idea of you rifling around my cabinets."

Loki sighed and dropped his head on his hand, his useless eyes closing. "Do I have any choice?"

Trusting Stark was nothing that sounded too appealing to him. He would rather jump down from the Bifrost again than do it, but in this moment the Bifrost was not even an option.

Tony scoffs loudly, but the sound is almost drowned out by the crunching of the bell pepper as he cut into it.

"You do have a choice, actually. I wouldn't trust me. Not that I'm an untrustworthy guy. But like I said, it's too easy for me to poison you or whatever." He shrugs. "Plus, I don't find joy in killing people, even if they're supposed to be my enemy."

"In this moment, you would only please me if you poisoned me," he said then.

The worst part was that it was not even a joke. If it wasn't for Frigga, Odin would have sentenced him to death, and now, without her protection, things went for the worse. The only one that truly loved him was gone, and he had been tortured and now sent there. Poison didn't sound too bad.

"I am not going to depend on you in every move. I would prefer to not eat at all than calling you when I'm hungry."

"I'm not coming to your every beck and call. Yeah, I'll show you around the kitchen if I must, but I'm not going to help you out all the time. I thought I might try to be friendly. I've seen how difficult it can be. I thought since I was already making my own breakfast, I might as well make you something. But if you don't want me to," he starts sounding a bit offended, "the fridge is right next to me and the pantry's on the other side of that."

If he could do it, Loki would roll his eyes now. Well, he could, but it wouldn't have much sense. Shaking his head slightly, he stood from his chair and cautiously made his way out of the kitchen. Stark was just so annoying some times. Maybe he would return to the kitchen for eating something once he was sure Stark would be gone.

Tony grumbles to himself as he hears Loki leave the kitchen. Good riddance. If he had to deal with the man for another second, he might actually attempt to murder him. He was infuriating. Tony finished his omelet and sat down at the table to scarf it down, burning his tongue in the process.

After he finished, he wanders back into his room, planning on changing into something more comfortable to work out in. He's in the gym in the next fifteen minutes, although within an hour he's completely bored, and wandering into the locker room.

Now, if he remembered correctly, when Loki arrived Stark said the pool was a floor down. He had learned where the stairs were, and he walked straight to them. Fourteen steps, he thought as he slowly made his way downstairs. He really did hope he was in the pool and not in the gym, but he could feel cold and smooth tiles beneath his fingers and there was the smell of chlorine... so yes, it should be the pool.

He discarded his clothes to the floor, hoping he would find them again later and cautiously walked forward until he found the edge of the pool. He dived in, closing his eyes and trying to relax.

Loki didn't do much in the pool. He just stayed there, with his eyes closed. He didn't even swim around, he just remained with the water leaving out only his nose and eyes. Of course, he was still hungry, but now he didn't want to eat.

It took quite some time before he came out of the water, walking in the same direction he came from for picking his clothes from the floor – and he actually found them only after he stepped on them. But now... He was completely wet and he couldn't wear those clothes again. He might as well try to find a towel. His hand against the wall, he walked all around the pool, touching every bench to see if he could find a towel there, and reached another room then, which room was oblivious to him. He just continued searching until he found what seemed to be a wardrobe.

Opening it, he finally found a towel. Only then, he smelled the familiar – and rather terrible – cologne Stark usually used.

"Oh. You're here." he said, rather disappointed. He was not ashamed of being naked around the man. The last time he could look at himself, he thought he looked wonderfully.

"I just can't catch a break with you, can I?" Tony mumbles as he turns toward Loki's voice.

As if it had been him making them meet in the pool as well. He arrived there sooner than he Stark, anyway.

Sex was a major part of Tony's life, everyone knew that. So it was no major thing for him to rake his eyes over Loki, surprisingly fit, body. However that tightening in his chest returning at the notion, was a major thing.

There was no way the Tony found Loki attractive. Not that Loki wasn't attractive. It was actually one of the first things he noticed in Germany. Although, he could've done without the horns. Definitely would've give the god a good romp around the sheets, if he wasn't evil and didn't try to make them all slaves. _Fuck_, Tony thinks. He should really stop making everything about sex.

"Stop staring at me." it was all he said. Of course, he couldn't see Stark actually staring at him, but he could feel the man's eyes upon himself as if they were a material thing.

"J," he calls out to his AI, trying to clear his mind, "Get the shower ready. And why isn't there any music?" A second later the sound of a shower starts up and Tony starts walking towards the sound, all of it drowned out by the start of AC/DC's Back in Black.

Loki didn't bother covering himself, though, and he just dried his hair as much as he could with the towel. Oh, but now that he thought about it... he was given a great chance. He would enjoy his time and have some fun. And he would have to remove the chlorine.

"Is the shower you are using the only one available?" He asked, dropping the towel to the floor.

Tony cleared his throat as he strips down and steps into the shower. "Ah, no. There's one across the little hall here. Like directly across."

He faceplamed, gritting his teeth. He should've said yes. He should have said this was the only one. Of course he didn't, because he was Tony Stark. He never did anything the right way.

"Just... I assume you know how to work a shower, right?"

"Yes, I know how it works. I didn't stay here two days without showering. I believe there is the pool in the middle. Or the gym. I would prefer to not run into anything while trying to take a shower, and I refuse to stay a moment longer with chlorine in my hair." Shaking his head slightly, he raises a brow. Maybe he could play with that.

Walking towards the sound of the shower, he joined Tony there and pushed him slightly out of the way so that he could get under the water as well.

"Do you mind if I join you?" he asked, but of course he didn't care much about the answer.

Tony tries to chuckle with something less than contempt as he pushed himself against the wall and out of Loki's way.

"Not for nothing, Lokes, but the last time someone joined me in the shower, it resulted in really hot sex."

He reaches for the knob to turn the heat down a bit before shoving at the god so he could stand under the water by himself. It was unnerving to be this close to Loki with clothing let alone all wet and turned on.

"Who knows why, I suspected it," he responded to him with a roll of his eyes.

"If you don't mind I'd like to finish my shower so I can leave your presence." What harm would it do if Loki joined him anyway? It was only a shower.

He blindly looked or a bottle of anything and poured some of the content on his hand. From the smell, it most likely was shampoo, so he quietly started washing his hair.

"You don't have to leave. I was actually hoping you would wash my back." he responded with a light smile gracing his lips, as he turned for giving his back to Stark. He would love to mess up with him, now, even more now that Stark seemed to consider him to be so attractive.

He only hums at Loki's comment about not leaving.

"God, you're cocky," Tony says as he reaches around the god for the shampoo as well. "In more ways than one," he states suggestively. He's quick to suds up his hair and rinse the soap out.

"Am I?" he asked with a short chuckle.

Tony reaches for his loofah and body wash, bringing his body a hair's breath away from Loki's and laying a hesitant hand on the taller man's shoulder.

His pale and otherwise perfect skin was ruined in some points by scars and signs of burnings, what was left of all the battles he went through with Thor. Though, he had always been rather proud of how he looked, anyway. He could literally feel the warmth coming from the man's body just so close to his own, and _maybe_ he even inched slightly back for getting closer. But that was only to tease the man. Only for that, he repeated to himself.

"Are you sure you want to go down that road?" Tony wonders and it's more of a question he asks himself.

"Why not? I only asked you to wash my back." He decided to pretend there was nothing weird or wrong in that. He would use his most innocent gaze if he could.

"Okay."

He lets out a long sighing breath as he moves his hand down Loki's back. He slides it around to palm at the god's stomach and grab the loofah from his left hand. The genius takes the soaped up loofah and runs it down the length of Loki's back. He has to take a step back when he realizes just how close they had moved.

He wanted to make a quip about the god not being able to reach that spot on his back, but for some reason he can't find the words as he rubs the pouf down once again.

It was nothing but a shower.

There was nothing sensual about it... Except for, you know... everything.

Loki shamelessly let out a long, satisfied purr when Stark started washing his back. It was mostly for creating as many troubles to the man as he could, but he was actually enjoying it quite a lot.

He could feel, every now and then, Tony's warm fingers brushing against his cold skin. Loki could still see in his own way. With his body, his ears... And Stark was a pretty good sight even in that way.

"Do you think you can resist without laying your hands on me in a different way?" he teased him, leaning against the man, his own back against Stark's chest.


	6. Chapter 6

Tony's breath hitched and his movements stilled. He thought about it, he really did.

With Loki leaning against him, pale skin meeting tanned, it'd be too easy for him to reach out and run his calloused hand down the flat plain of Loki's stomach, lower and lower. And oppositely it would be too easy to push the god away, laugh it off and leave for his bedroom to dress. Easy, but that wasn't the question.

Well, not the question Tony asked himself. _Did he want to?_

"No," he decided aloud. He drops the pouf he'd previously been holding and plopped his hands onto Loki's stomach pulling the god closer to him. It made a splooshing sound as it landed.

Mh. Well. That wasn't exactly where he thought this would be going.

It was supposed to be nothing but a tease, he thought he would just walk out and pick his towel again as soon as Stark admitted he wanted to go further into this.

Instead, he remained leaning comfortably against a strong and warm body. He hadn't had breakfast yet, that might be a good excuse for leaving now, but instead he purred again when Stark pulled him closer, and maybe he rocked his hips against the other man in a not-so-subtle tease.

Even if he was not sure if it still was a tease, since he might truly like it. Turning his head slightly, he nipped at Stark's jaw playfully, his hands moving to lay upon Stark's on his own stomach.

"You should keep me under observation in another way, I think." he pointed out with a chuckle. "This might upset the Director."

Tony nibbled at Loki's shoulder with a grin. This wasn't the reaction he was expecting. He'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it. A moan escapes his lips when Loki grinds back and can't help but to rock his own hips forward.

"Since when have I ever listened to Fury?" he wonders his voice light. He starts pressing butterfly kisses up the side of Loki's neck. "Let him be upset," Tony whispers. "Serves him right for sticking me with you anyway." He tightens his arms trying to pull the god closer.

Tony's last sentence made him stop a moment.

Was it only vengeance, then? Was there no true attraction, only a feeling of rebellion towards the boss? But saying '_sticking me with you_' didn't really sound as anything positive.

He didn't feel truly appreciated not even physically – lack of trust and everything related to that was nothing he could blame Tony for. Suddenly grateful that standing under the water washed away the shampoo immediately, he gently removed Tony's hands and walked out of the shower. "I... didn't have breakfast yet..." he muttered absently, walking in the same direction he came from until he found his towel, that he wrapped around his waist.

Tony didn't move for a good long moment. Rejection shot through him and that all too familiar tightening spread through his chest. Loki had seemed almost... hurt as he walked away.

"Oh so now you want breakfast," Tony mumbled. He reaches blindly to shut the water off before he storms after Loki, ignoring the fallen loofah and pile of clothes.

"What the fuck Loki?" He doesn't say it angrily like he wanted to, actually there's no emotion behind it, he's not even sure if the God had even heard it.

Loki was moving slowly, but not because he wanted to, but because his brain was moving slowly. He was not worthy of being called a Prince anymore, he was not worthy of being respected, he was not worthy of seeing, and now he was not even worthy to have sex without a second hidden reason.

Was it because of the red signs surrounding his eyes? All that charm he used to have, gone for that?

"I'm just hungry." he responded calmly, walking with his hand on the wall again to not fall into the pool.

Tony grabbed a fluffy white terrycloth towel as he passed the cabinet and wrapped it around his waist.

"Bullshit," he called out, "I call bullshit." He quickens his step, careful to not slip on the smooth tile, and cuts in front of Loki, stopping him. "What the hell happened back there?" he asks, trying to meet the god's sightless gaze. "And don't tell me it was because you were hungry. You were the one that initiated the whole damn thing." He shoved at Loki, punctuating the end of the sentence.

Surely, if he kept that slow pace, he would find the stairs again and he would return upstairs. He didn't even bother to try to understand if he was still being followed or not. That until he literally walked on Stark, crashing against the man before moving a step back.

"Do you want me to apologize? Well, I'm sorry," he responded, having to lay his hand on Stark's shoulder for managing to walk past him and reach the wall again.

"So all of that... was just a tease?"

He took a deep breath. There was that tightening again. Something was seriously wrong with him.

"I didn't.. cross a line or something? You were just teasing me?" he mumbles more to himself.

"Not on my part." he just responded, finally finding his way to the stairs.

He didn't even count the steps anymore, he just went upstairs, mostly paying attention at not slipping for the water than for all the rest. When he reached the door of his room, though, he realized one thing: his key was in his clothes, abandoned at the pool. He sighed and changed his direction for the living room.

Still, he didn't eat. He just threw himself on the couch as soon as he found it and curled up upon it, uncaring if he was wet, and covered himself as much as he could with the towel, and he was facing the back of the couch, so if Stark arrived, he wouldn't see his face.

Tony, obviously, had misread Loki's actions and now he felt foolish. He slaps his hand against the wall, god he could be so stupid. Ruled by hormones and sex. Tony didn't say anything else and he walked back the way he came and through the gym. Hopefully, he could get up to his room get dressed and be down in his workshop without running into Loki. Hopefully, but doubtful.

Only two days into the situation and they had already went from being at each others throats to teasing each other in the shower.

"Wonderful," Tony murmured to himself as he stepped out of the elevator into the living room and head for his bedroom.

What had Loki meant by not on his part? Well, obviously the teasing. Which meant if Loki wasn't teasing then Tony had crossed a line. But it didn't matter now, because he was going to do everything he could to avoid the raven-haired god. He sighed, thinking that he'd had a free pass to Loki's hair for a moment and he hadn't taken it. He dresses in his norm, old jeans and a tee, before he makes a bee-line for his bar and a liquid lunch.

Loki did hear the footsteps, but he was given no consideration so Stark hadn't noticed him, or he was ignoring him. Either way, Loki remained completely motionless on the couch, only wrapping his own arms around himself and shutting his eyes tightly closed. Sound of bottles. Oh, great, so he was even drinking now, and Loki was not hungry anymore. This was day two of him not eating, and he was not hungry.

He started thinking Odin had done something else to him, that would force him to starve to death. As some sort of self-protection – from his own thoughts, from everything surrounding him – out of his control his skin started turning rich blue. He lazily opened his eyes when he felt the air becoming colder, and for a moment he was shocked.

_Black_.

The _black_ leather covering the couch.

Not darkness.

He could see the light hitting the leather. A short second, and he literally fell from the couch, gasping, and as he returned to his Æsir form, his vision disappeared again.

He was panting heavily and his once again sightless moved around in shock. He could see. Only his Æsir form had been blinded, he still could see in his natural form.

Tony had just taken a sip of his good friend Jack when he heard his guest fall off the couch. And he'd choked on that sip. Mainly because he hadn't even seen the guy as he passed the couch, but also because for a split second he could've sworn that the god had turned blue. A dark, fucking, plain-as-day blue.

But it was only there for a second before he was the same old Loki, he must have been imagining it. Although, the god did look like he'd seen a ghost. Maybe Tony wasn't losing his mind. Either way, he drained his glass after he managed to stop coughing.

"You alright there, Rudolph?" he calls out. Out of courtesy, not because he actually cared or anything.

Long, wet locks were sticking to Loki's face as he uselessly stared in front of himself. Did he imagine it only because he wanted it, or did it really...?

..._Oh_.

Odin knew how much Loki despised his true form. He was sure he made it on purpose. If he wanted to see, he would have to be like that, all day every day.

And if he was already ugly now, if he already lost his charm...

What would happen if he remained blue, and his skin was so cold he couldn't be touched? And his eyes that terrifying blood red...

But that was not his main problem now. He honestly didn't care in this moment.

"What color is the couch? Is it black? Black leather?" he asked, turning towards Stark though he could not see anymore.

Tony stared at Loki for a long moment before answering. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

He didn't mean for it to sound so prudish, albeit Loki sort of deserved it. He debated for a moment whether or not to go to the god. In the end, he did slowly walk over, only after he refilled his glass and after a brief thought, poured a second one.

"Hold on, Loki, did you... can you see?" he questions, incredulous.

When he does make it over, Tony sets both glasses on the coffee table before offering his hand to help Loki up.

Loki was still breathing heavily. There was a way he could see. Maybe he would not stay in that form every day at every hour, but when he was alone, for long enough to remember the place, how everything was, where he could find some things... He could make it.

"Not now, But... I saw the couch, when I was... when I was..." he hesitated.

Did Stark know what Loki truly was? Did Thor tell his friends?

He flinched when he heard the sound of the glasses laid on the coffee table behind him, but when he moved and felt Tony's hand there, he took it and stood. He was still incredulous.

"Okay, so you can see. But only when you were, what?" He didn't want to ask, really he didn't, you don't go around asking people if they can see when they're blue.

Hell, you don't go asking people if they're blue. Thor never said anything about it. Or maybe he did, and Tony just wasn't paying attention. Yeah, that sounded like him. He did know that Loki was adopted. So maybe it wasn't such a big deal.

It took him a moment but then Loki started laughing and he wrapped his arms around Stark's neck, holding him. Maybe there was still some hope for him.

Tony visibly froze when Loki had wrapped his arms around Tony's neck. It wasn't until that moment did he realize just how tall the god was. Tony gave a halfhearted chuckle, still very much confused as to what was happening. But he does wrap his arms around Loki's waist, very much aware of only the towel the man wore.

It only takes a second for him to realize two things, one that his pants were more wet than he would like now and two that if he reached up just a little bit, he could tug on Loki's long hair. Which he did.

"So, are you going to be okay?" Tony wondered. There was no doubt that he was genuinely worried now. Loki had just burst into laughter for (seemingly) no reason.

He hadn't imagined it. He could see. If Odin thought that that form would stop him, he was wrong. He wasn't that willing to have the others see him as a Jötunn, but it would do, at least until he figured out how to see again in his Æsir form as well. Now he was trustful there would be a spell he could find, now that he knew he could actually read books.

He didn't even care when Tony tugged his hair, he could do it for as long as Loki was in a good mood.

"I don't know. Maybe," he responded with a smile, still holding him. Just then he realized what he did and he pulled away, letting him go.

Should he tell him? Probably Stark didn't consider him attractive anymore only because of those scars. What would he say if he knew Loki was blue? "I... I am not an Asgardian. I am a Frost Giant, from Jötunheimr. This is not how I truly look, this is nothing but a spell Odin made on me when I was a child," he shortly explained.

Tony wasn't going to lie. It hurt when Loki pulled away from him. He thinks over Loki's admission. Okay. He knew about the adoption status. Which meant he could've been a totally different species, Tony had long ago mused over this. Sometime around Thor's ramblings about Odin's decision. But still it was different thinking it and actually hearing it.

"Okay," Tony says slowly. "So you have like a glamour or something? Does that mean you really are blue?" The question sounded rude and harsh to his ears. He hadn't meant to ask it like that. "I mean," he starts quickly, "I thought, when you were falling off the couch that your skin looked blue. But it was only for a second and I was pretty sure I was seeing things."

Stark had seen him. Even if only for a second, he had seen him for the monster he truly was.

Despite his sightless eyes, it was rather easy to see how uncomfortable he was with it. Stark would be too if he was part of a race of monsters.

"You don't see things, that's how my skin naturally looks," he responded, moving away from him completely to sit down on the couch.

He would have to go back to the pool, later, to pick up his clothes and the key still in the pocket. He folded his hands in his own lap and bit down on his own bottom lip absently.

Now he could really consider the pros and cons of this situation.

He would never see himself for who he considered himself to be. An Asgardian, with brilliant green eyes, but he would see. On the other hand, if he already wasn't much appreciated now, if he showed what kind of monster he truly was, things might go worse. To not consider that if he forgot to make a spell controlling the cold, he might freeze anything or anyone around him. Most of all, though, what truly worried him was that _Stark had seen him_.


	7. Chapter 7

_A: I have a soundtrack. You can find it at (slash) lyrarainesparrow (slash) i-ll-follow-you-into-the-dark. Also, I'll have a link on my profile._

* * *

Tony just stared at Loki for a moment. Just stared as no thought ran through his mind. He blinks a second later when he realized what he was doing. He was imagining Loki with skin the same deep blue from moments earlier.

He wasn't going to lie. He did find it sort of attractive. With a small breath he takes the two glasses from the table and sits next to the god. He brushes one of the glasses against the back of the, well, he could no longer call him Asgardian, so... Loki's hand.

"Here. I owe you a drink," he says alluding to their first meeting a year ago. But this time it was a show of friendship. A way to say that "Hey, you're not alright, but I'm not either." A way of saying "I accept you."

In a moment, Loki remembered his discussion with Odin when he returned from Midgard. Frigga was the only reason why he was alive. Odin, the one that still insisted in calling himself his father, would have been ready to kill him, when Loki had done nothing more of what Odin had done over and over again during the centuries. But he was the King and he could do everything he wanted, and Loki couldn't, wasn't it? Only a reason more for wanting the throne.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he barely realized something cold was brushing against his hand. He just took the glass without even thinking, but he didn't drink. He just held it in his hands.

"He did it on purpose."

Tony was confused for a second, but then it dawned on him. He didn't want to ask why, although it pestered him to know. Everything he's heard about Odin simply ticked him off. What kind of man would do such a thing? Of course, his own father valued the life of a frozen super soldier more than his own son's. So it wasn't that far fetched.

Still, it ticked Tony off that the man had pretended to love Loki like a son only to use him in such a way.

"He had no reason to," he found himself saying. He takes a sip from his tumbler.

Loki let out a short, unamused chuckle.

"You don't know him like I know him," he responded, leaning against the back of the couch. It sounded stupid even to him, remaining in that blind form, when he actually could see in another, but he couldn't bring himself to accept what he truly was.

"He knows I hate that form, and he put me in a position to chose, but I would lose something in both ways. After all, it's a punishment. I'm not supposed to enjoy anything."

It was still morning, he didn't eat and he refused to drink alcohol at that hour, but still he didn't let go the glass nor lay it anywhere. He didn't even know why, he just held it.

Tony nods, not sure what else to do.

"That's fucked up."

He glances down at the amber liquid suddenly not wanting it anymore. He leans forward and sets the glass down. His chest had that tightening that he'd now decided to associate it less with anxiety and more with a reaction to seeing Loki hurt. He fists his hand and presses it against his own chest.

"That's seriously fucked up," he says breathily. He pauses for a moment going to stare at Loki once more focusing on the red around his eyes.

Loki was not one who liked it when someone was so scurrilous when there were other possible words to use, but he had to admit that _fucked up_ explained rather perfectly his current situation. He should be happy he still could see in someway, but it was how that made him upset. He pulled his legs up on the couch and wrapped his arms around them, still not letting go of the glass.

Decidedly _fucked up_.

Tony wanted to ask if he could see, if he could look at Loki honestly, in his Jötunn form. But he didn't. What he did do, however, shocked himself. It was hesitant, the hand that reached out and cupped Loki's cheek, making the god face him.

He had never felt so powerless and weak since when he was a child. When Tony made him turn, he didn't know if he was more surprised or a little bit scared. He couldn't even understand anymore what was happening.

"...What?" He asked.

What was going to happen now? Would he be judged for what he truly was? Would he be called a monster once again? He really didn't know what to expect. Stark might even thank him for leaving the shower because he didn't want to have sex with such a monster. But the touch was gentle, instead, and so it was that light caress to his hair.

Tony didn't even know. He just did it. And well now that he had, he just stayed there, silent. It would be too easy to lean forward and press his lips to the gods, but he manages not to, the memory of their botched shower still fresh in his mind.

"I'm sorry," he breathes. "No one should have to go through this."

Now, really? Was he honestly _comforting_ him? But Loki just shook his head slightly.

"I deserve it," he only responded. What followed after was even more unexpected.

Tony slips his hand farther up, his fingers weaving into the hair behind Loki's ear and runs his thumb across his cheek. And then he does kiss him. Its just a chaste pressing of lips upon lips and then Tony's is pulling away, hand and all.

It was literally centuries ago, the last time Loki had kissed anybody. It was something far too intimate to let it happen with everybody. But he didn't pull away nor slapped the man for daring to kiss him.

"What... What was that for?" he just asked. He was not mad as he thought he would be, nor he was angry in any way. He was just... surprised.

Tony bit his lip expecting Loki to be angry, but when he wasn't... It stunned Tony and he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Loki wasn't angry or mad or anything really, he was just shocked.

"I wanted to," he answers Loki honestly. He gives a tiny little smile but drops it second later. "I'm sorry if I- if you- sorry. I've probably given you whiplash today."

Tony wanted to. Very well.

So, ugly red signs of burning around his eyes and his white pearl eyes didn't create any trouble. Loki actually abandoned Stark with probably an erection between his legs for no reason, because he always saw himself as the victim. He might not have wanted it for upsetting Fury. Mh.

"You didn't really do anything wrong," he responded, and he was forced to admit with himself that it was true, which makes Tony smile.

He turned away again, then, and sighed. Tony's smile diminished a little.

Loki didn't like darkness, and even less he liked his natural form. But he wanted to see. He didn't even worry about Stark's presence anymore. He wanted to see where he was, even just for a moment.

Starting from his neck, his skin gradually turned that intense blue, his eyes turning blood red again. And just as before, his sight started returning. Lights and shadows first, and then he gradually started seeing the colors, the objects... All the while throwing a spell so he didn't freeze everything that surrounded him.

Tony's smile disappeared totally as he watched the deep blue spread across his skin. He was fascinated with the way the little droplets of water froze upon impact. His brown eyes trailed along the raised swirls on Loki's flesh, following them down to where they disappeared beneath the towel and back up where he's distracted by a light smile and red eyes. They were unnerving, certainly, but he wasn't frightened. Far from it, actually; he was kinda turned on.

Loki's eyes dropped almost immediately to the coffee table. That damn coffee table that made him almost fall a couple of times at least. He had the half-idea of breaking it just for revenge, but revenge against a not-living object was far too much for him as well.

Instead, he looked towards the windows, where he could see the sunlight and blue sky. When was the last time he saw a blue sky? At least since his return to Asgard, when he had to walk across the city for reaching the Allfather. In chains.

"Hello, handsome."

He had almost forgotten about Stark's presence, when he spoke, and he turned towards him with a raised eyebrow. Handsome? What was wrong with that man?

"Who's the blind one now?" he asked in return. He took his time for observing the man, though. He was handsome. Or maybe Loki had been blind for too long.

Tony only chuckled. Loki, in this form and the next, fascinated him, perhaps because of the subtle knowledge that he wasn't human. It was all still there, the features that Tony found attractive, the high cheekbones and strong jaw. He was still tall and wiry. He was still perfectly fit. He still had the same cute little smirk. The only difference was his skin going from a pale alabaster to the deep blue.

"You still," Tony says after a moment, "if you don't believe that you're just as good looking in this form than in your Asgardian form." He holds his hand up, intending to lay it on the god's cheek once more, but he only briefly lays his hand down before he pulls it away with a sharp intake of breath. "The only difference is your skin. It's cold and blue. You're still the same Loki though."

For a moment, Loki didn't understand what Stark was doing. He saw his hands moving towards him, but it was like if he was blind again, and he really didn't see it coming. As soon as he lay his warm hand on his own frozen cheek, though, Loki moved away quickly, as if burned. In reality, he was afraid he had burned Tony; he had never tried this spell before, he was not sure if it could really save him from a frostbite.

"There is nothing 'good' in being a monster that can't even be touched." he responded, glaring at him. This man was truly blind... Or he just didn't know Jötunn history. He didn't know what having that form truly meant.

Tony lays his hand on Loki's cheek again, though this time it wasn't uncomfortable. It felt more like touching an icy glass of water in the summertime, cold, but welcome.

"You're doing something right?" Tony asked. "So I can touch you? 'Cause Thor told us that Frost Giants can give you frostbite by just a touch. And," he pulls his hand away just long enough to look at the palm, "I don't have frostbite." He smiles softly.

"You consider yourself a monster, because that what everyone else says. But have you seen yourself? Really seen yourself, Loki? Because you're really attractive. And that's coming from a notorious ladies man."

"That is coming from a notorious fool of a man who thinks with what he has between his legs instead of with his brain," he corrected him, standing from the couch to put some distance between himself and the man.

"So what?" Tony questions. He tried not to show the hurt when Loki walked away.

"Just because there is a spell it doesn't mean I'm any different. Normally, everything around me would be ice now. I have seen myself, yes, and my opinion didn't change. It's not because of what _the others_ say! I have met the Frost Giants, I have read stories about them! Jötunns are nothing but monsters."

"Who cares if Jötunns are supposed to be monsters? What you are doesn't have to define you. You, of all people, should know that." He's not sure but he thinks it sounds eerily similar to the same argument he had with himself. "But if you want to sit here and wallow in your self pity then be my guest," he growls as he stand up.

"It's exactly what I've done that doesn't make me any different."

Loki wasn't going to listen to him, he realized. And he wasn't about to stand around and watch as Loki let his self hatred eat away at him. He saw first hand the result of that. He lost Pepper because of it. He storms across the room towards the bar and past it to the stairwell. He needed a good walk.

Loki never thought about it, actually. He despised Frost Giants because they destroyed and killed by way of conquering, but that was exactly what Loki did as well. He was no different only because Frigga gave him her magic. When Stark walked away, though, Loki sat down and covered his face with his hands.

Couldn't they have a simple conversation? Without it ending in a fight and one of them leaving? Shaking his head, after Stark left he returned downstairs for picking up his clothes and the key, so that he could return to his room. Once there, he dropped the towel and returned to his Asgardian, blind, form. He lay down in bed and pulled up the blankets.

Tony hadn't realized where he started walking to, that is until he was nearly mobbed by fans and paparazzi alike in Central Park. He actually spent most of the rest of the day signing autographs until his wrist was so sore he didn't think he'd be able to move it for days afterward. None of it truly helping with his sour mood.

Eventually, people left him alone and he wandered back to the tower, pizza box in hand. He briefly wondered if Loki would like pizza, but then realized that he really didn't give a shit. Or at least that's what he told himself.

After snatching a few pieces and some brandy, he leaves the box on the table, going to the couch to find something to watch on the plasma TV. It's not long until he's fallen asleep, dreaming if wormholes and endless falling.


	8. Chapter 8

_A: There's sexual assault at the end, but not really since up until the accusation is thrown it's consensual. Like Loki changes his mind mid-blowjob._

* * *

Only late that night did Loki stand from the bed again. After creating a robe wrapped around his body, he walked out of his room. He had learned where the kitchen was, he didn't need to see to reach it. He took that despicable form only to prepare himself some tea. He had lost his hunger, he hasn't eaten at all and yet he still didn't want to.

He gave nothing but a quick glance at the pizza box on the table and then, with the cup in his hand, he left the room. After seeing Stark sleeping on the couch, he returned to his Æsir form before going to poke his arm.

"Stark."

There was a moment, right before Tony woke, in which he thought he had died. He thought he finally hit the ground dozens of stories below and died. That was, of course, moments before he shot up, his breathing rapid. His heart raced as he looked around. It was dark outside, his internal clock telling him it was late at night. It took him quite a while to realize that no, he wasn't dead, yes, he was safe, yes, he was home, and yes, that was his living room.

He looks around once again as his breathing and heart rate slowly decline until they reach normal, and spies _guess who?_ with a steaming cup of tea in his hand.

"Loki?"

Even if in that moment he couldn't see, Loki was rather sure Stark was not quiet at all. Nightmares. He knew them very well. He took a step back, though, when Stark shot up like that.

"Yes." He pointed out obviously, before taking a sip of his warm tea. "You should go sleeping in your bedroom, it's surely much more comfortable."

Tony groaned and wiped at his face. The couch wasn't very comfortable in the first place.

"Yeah, good idea..." His brow furrows and he looks up to the god, trying to meet the gaze of the pearl coloured eyes. "What are you doing up this late?"

Loki showed the cup, before taking another sip of the hot liquid. "I wanted tea." he stated the obvious, sticking his free hand in the pocket of his robe. In that moment, he was very thankful he couldn't see, it made the situation less awkward, honestly. He just moved away, so that Stark could make his way to his own room if he wanted.

Tony yawned. "Okay then. You enjoy your cup of tea." He stands up and stretches, taking the step or two to Loki to kiss his cheek. "Sorry about earlier," he mumbled because if he didn't do it now he'd hate himself in the morning.

When he heard Stark's footsteps again, Loki supposed the man was just leaving, so he continued sipping his tea without giving him any more attention. He froze in his place when Stark kissed his cheek. What was it with this man, continuously kissing him?

"Why do you always apologize? You defended your idea, it was rightful."

Tony chuckled. "I'm chocking it up to my monthly cycle."

Actually, he had no idea why he continuously apologized. Perhaps it was the same reason he kept touching Loki. With a tiny smile, he heads towards his bedroom.

"Good night, Lokes. Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite."

"...Bedbugs? There are bedbugs? I slept in a bed covered in bedbugs?" he asked, and he didn't even know if he was more disgusted or... still, disgusted. Knowing Stark it was only another unhappy joke, but still he wouldn't want to sleep there if there was the doubt there were bedbugs. "You can't tell me this and then just leave!"

Tony laughs, it's a full-bodied sound as he paused mid-step and tosses his head back. "It's just a saying," he says between chortles. "There are no bed bugs. Promise. But if it makes you feel better, my bed is always open and bedbug free, Lokes." He chuckles again as he continues to make his way to his room. Though, he won't admit it, part of him wants the god to take him up on his offer.

"Of course there are no bedbugs, if it's your bed. I won't share mine with insects," he responded, rather upset by the doubt.

He remained where he was, absently sipping his tea while Stark spoke. Was it what Stark was aiming to? Bring Loki to his bed in a way or another? But when he had finished his tea, he lay the mug on the coffee table and followed after, easily reaching the man's door.

"You better not have bugs here." he said as he walked in, shutting the door behind him then. Now, new environment and he refused to turn into his Jötunn form again. "Stark? I need your assistance here."

Tony tried not to smile but failed miserably as he shucked his jeans off. He had taken up his offer. Tony was so sure Loki was going to scoff at the idea and head back to his room.

"Just walk straight forward, you'll hit the edge of the bed in about six feet." He pulls back the covers before climbing in and snuggling down. Was there a reason his heart was racing now?

"You are just so kind to help." He responded sarcastically with a raised eyebrow, cautiously stepping forward. He did hit the bed, and it was rather painful as well. Holding himself back from cursing for this, he climbed on the bed as well until he reached the pillows. He wouldn't take off his robe, Stark saw far too well for Loki to sleep naked next to him. He slipped under the blankets and lay comfortably on his back.

Tony yawns once more and nods. "I know. Aren't I just the bestest friend?"

"... No bugs, right?"

Okay, he was seriously regretting saying the Midgardian saying now.

"No, Loki. There aren't any bugs. There weren't any bugs in your bed. Now, stop worrying." He shifts until he's lying comfortably on his side with his back to Loki.

"Yes, Anthony. Sure." Loki responded, turning on his side as well when he was a little bit more comfortable there, shifting closer until he was literally curled up against Tony's back.

He couldn't help it, the Midgardian was surely warmer than the blankets. He was not ashamed of doing it, nor he would regret it. He closed his eyes and relaxed. Anyway, the following day he would make him check the room so he was sure there were no bugs.

Tony blushed at the use of his first name. It _really_ shouldn't sound _that_ _good_ coming from the god's mouth. And the feeling of Loki at his back only made the feeling worse. But still, he enjoyed it.

He was the little spoon. He'd always enjoyed being the little spoon, not that he'd admit it. Apparently, he wouldn't admit a lot of things. With a little content sigh, he reaches behind him to snag Loki's wrist and puts the taller man's arm around his waist.

Loki was just so tired, and he realized it only now that he was laying down in the warmth and in a much more comfortable bed. He didn't fight it when Stark gripped his wrist and pulled it on the front. Actually, he held the man's t-shirt in his fist. He was deeply asleep in a matter of minutes, his long leg nonchalantly thrown over Stark's.

Tony was confused when he woke up in the morning. First, he hadn't dreamt the night before, which was weird since he seemed to have been plagued with nightmares since the attack on New York. Second, there was the shock of being entwined with someone else. And third, the shock of that person being Loki.

It was pleasant though, waking up with the god wrapped around him and their legs in a tangled mess. And frankly he didn't want to get up at the moment. He was completely fine with staying in.

It took quite a long time before Loki woke up. His face was almost entirely covered with wild locks of hair that escaped his control while he slept, he had lost sensibility to one of his legs, for some still unknown reason, and it was... hot. He was literally sweating. He turned on his back and opened lazily his eyes, yawning, but still covering his mouth with his hand, even if he had forgotten he was in Stark's room. Just when he turned again and he was literally laying on the man he remembered.

"Oh," he said as he moved away. "Good morning."

Tony smiled, looking over Loki as he stretched. "Good morning."

He wraps his arms around Loki's waist, pulling him closer towards him. He was in a good mood, might as well try to be civil this morning before they're at each other's throats again. Though he was sure it was only a matter of time.

"I hope you slept as well as I did. No bugs," he muses.

Loki gasped when he was pulled back closer, his hand moving to lay on Stark's shoulder for stability. He let out a short, embarrassed, chuckle while shaking his head.

"No bugs." he confirmed.

Still, Stark would have to check his room and sure there were none there as well. He decided to give up to Stark for once, and instead of pulling away, he lay his head on the man's chest and closed his eyes again, relaxing for a little bit longer.

Tony smiles, resting his head on the top of Loki's. He nuzzles his nose down into Loki's hair. It smelt like Tony's shampoo which was a bit of a disappointment.

"So... Are we done bickering over stupid shit?" he wonders. "Because I'm not gonna lie, when you're not ticked off at me, I kinda enjoy your company."

Loki chuckled absently as he buried his face in the man's chest. It had been far too long since the last time he spent such a peaceful time with somebody else. Surely even more since when he woke up in someone else's bed.

"I don't know. I like bickering." he joked, sitting back up then and stretching. "I'm the enemy, remember? You shouldn't enjoy my company."

Tony rolls his eyes as he rolls out of bed.

"You're supposed to be living with me for the foreseeable future, remember? I might as well enjoy your company." He stretches, his shirt riding up. "I'm going to take a shower. Did you want to go for attempt number two?" he wonders with a cheeky grin and a teasing tone.

Loki stood as well and stretched. Only then he remembered he was wearing nothing but a robe, so he closed it properly again, covering his naked body.

"You have the incredibly ability to make everything sound negative," Loki pointed out, noticing how it seemed Stark was forcing himself into liking all this. "Mmh... I don't think it's a good idea, is it?" he asked with a light smile upon his lips. Showering together, after what happened the last time...

"Just call me Negative Nancy," Tony jokes, eyeing Loki. "On second thought, never mind. You'll probably take that for real."

The genius shakes his head. No, it probably wasn't a good idea. But then again, flying around in a metal contraption wasn't a good idea either, yet he still did it.

"Well, probably not a good idea, no.." He smirks. "But when have bad ideas ever stopped me?" He wanders off towards his bathroom. "Door's open if you change your mind."

Loki shook his head slightly, that smile still lingering on his lips. When he was sure Stark had left, he turned into his Jötunn form long enough to look at himself in the mirror and fix his hair a little. He still considered himself to be a Prince, after all, and he always had to look acceptable. And then he was pale and blind again, and seriously thinking about Stark's offer. In the end, he discarded his robe and reached him.

"If you behave properly, you can wash my hair," he said, stepping under the water with him.

Tony had his hands in his own hair when Loki joined him. "I did behave myself. You were the one that started it." He tips his head back to rinse the soap out. "So the question is, can you behave yourself?" He reaches for the conditioner as he steps out of the spray and turns toward the god. "And I'll keep my hands to myself."

"If you make me." He responded with a grin. Stark literally took those words out of his mouth, there was no way he could hold them back. When Stark moved away, Loki leaned over to wrap his arms around his neck and pull him under the water as well again. There was enough space for both.

"I literally gave you then chance to dig your hands into my hair, since you seem to like it so much. You should hurry up before I change my mind."

Tony chuckles as he brings his hands up. "But it's just so soft," he explains. "Like seriously, how your hair this soft?" He asks with a serious undertone. He grabs at the shampoo and squirts a bit on to Loki's head and starts scrubbing, letting it suds up.

"I don't know. I guess I have been graced with it by Mother Nature," he joked, turning with his back to Stark once more and throwing his head back to make it easier, on the man, to wash his hair. "It was softer when I had shorter hair, anyway," he said, closing his eyes and relaxing at the massage given by Stark washing his hair.

Tony smiles good-naturedly, running his fingers through the long locks and scrunching it before he decides to pay more attention to Loki's scalp. "She must love you then," he jokes back. "Step back," he says softly in attempt to get Loki's head fully under the water so he can get all the soap out.

"Possibly." He chuckled, doing as he was told to let the water wash away the soap. His hair was even longer when straight and wet. "I was thinking about giving it a cut." He admitted then, turning again to face the man despite his lack of sight. Stark's reaction would tell him if it was a good idea or not.

Tony shrugs at the admission then. "I personally like it long. But if you wanted to get it cut, go for it. I wouldn't get it cut too short though. I can't see you with short hair." He grins then. "Now, are you going to wash my back for me? Or do I have to do it myself?"

"Surely I wouldn't make it as short as yours." He responded as he shrugged, and, smiling, offered his hand. "Give me the shower gel and I will."

Now, if he was in a gaming mood, there was just so much he could do to Stark now, for driving him insane, and it had been the man himself giving him this chance. How could he let it skip from his hands?

"Oh, god that would look terrible on you." Tony smiles, surprised Loki actually went along with it, and hands the shower gel over. "Here you go," he states as he turns his back toward Loki.

It honestly didn't even cross his mind that he should be weary. Loki was the God of Mischief after all.

Taking the bottle from Tony's hands, the god poured some on his own and lay them on the man's back. His own cold and long fingers slowly traced every inch of the man's shoulders, soap covering it for a moment before being washed away. Moving them lower on his back and along his spine, he leaned over for laying a light kiss to the piece of skin he just cleaned, a smirk returning to his lips.

Tony involuntarily shivered. More so because of the intimacy than because of the cool touch of Loki. Actually, it felt quite nice in stark contrast to the hot water cascading down his back. At the touch of Loki's lips, he freezes for a moment, but then rolls his shoulders and lets the god continue.

At the shiver that ran across the man's body and that he could feel on his own fingers and lips, Loki smiled. He let his hand run lower, to the man's hips and lower back, spreading the soap and at the same time studying his body. This time, though, he nipped on his warm skin. "Are you alright, Anthony? You just shivered," he teasingly asked, letting his hands slip on the man's front, still remaining rather low on his body.

Tony nods, unable to form actually words at the moment. He gaped at the feeling of Loki's little bite and again when he felt the long fingered hand slip to his front.

There it was again. _Anthony_.

Why did his name have to sound so damn good coming from the other man's lips? The muscles in his lower abdomen tightened with arousal.

"Feels nice," he finally manages.

That grin never disappeared from Loki's lips. He kept his useless eyes closed, but he could feel every reaction of that perfectly trained body on his hands. He moved his hands away, though.

"Such a shame you're already clean, then," he mused, moving to stand under the water himself, his head thrown back to have the warm jet right on his face.

Tony groaned, quite loudly might it be added, at the loss of touch. "Oh, you bastard," he growls. And though he wants to, he doesn't throw Loki up against the tile wall and snog him silly. Not at all.

Instead, he presses up against the tall and lithe body, trailing kisses down Loki's throat, across his collar bones, and down his chest, continuing further until Tony was in his knees with his lips pressed right beneath the god's navel. His brown eyes flick up to try and read Loki's face before he goes any further.

"Bastard? Why? You asked me to wash your back and I did." he responded with a grin still lingering on his lips. He was surprised when Stark's mouth was on his throat, and he didn't really know what to do. Normally he would push him away, but his hands remained in the air, and he more or less let him do everything he wanted.

"Finally, on your knees before me." He joked, his hands finally laying in the man's hair when he was on his knees. "What are you doing?"

Tony smirked. He doesn't say anything as he continues to press kisses against Loki's skin, one on either hip before he lays one on the tip of Loki's member. "What do you want me to do?" He wonders.

Loki shivered at the kisses, instinctively holding Stark's hair tighter as he did.

"Don't be a fool, Anthony. Stand up," he whispered.

His mind said 'move away', but his body refused to. He knew it was wrong, that Stark was the enemy, but he liked it more than he should. Or, still, it was abstinence.

Tony circles his thumbs where he previously pressed kisses on Loki's hips.

In the back of his mind, he realizes he should listen to Loki. He really should stand up and laugh it off and walk away. But Tony throws the thought out the window when he leans forward and runs his tongue down the underside of the god's cock before he wraps his mouth around the head.

Loki couldn't hold back the moan that left his lips when Stark wrapped his warm lips around him, his hands pulling at his hair stronger than he would have wanted. He wouldn't be surprised if he found locks of hair in his hands later.

"I am not joking, Stark! Get up now!" He repeated.

Tony groaned as he pulled away and stood up, thoroughly peeved that Loki not only decided to cockblock him again but also nearly pull his hair out.

"Fine, fine. Sorry I wanted to pleasure you."

"Molesting me it's not the right way. If I wanted this, I would have told you." he snapped as he walked out of the shower and blindly looked for his robe. Of course, he had to step on it again before finding it for putting it back on.

"There is no space for jokes with you. That is why it was a bad idea."

Tony flushed. Oh. Well then. "Loki," he calls out softly, following him. "I didn't mean- I'm sorry." He bites on his lip, looking down at his feet. "I really shouldn't- Seriously, I'm sorry." He felt bad, like sick-to-his-stomach bad.

He couldn't even twist this one on Loki, not that he would, because Loki did exactly what he said he would. Tony was the one that took it a step farther.

"Sorry," he says once more because he really couldn't convey just how sorry he was.

"I am a Prince!" Loki growled. He didn't need to see to find Stark and wrap his cold fingers around his neck. "And if you call me once more with a female name, you should remind yourself that just a minute ago, you were the one on his knees sucking my cock! You are the harlot that shall be called with female names. Not me." A moment more tightening his grip on the man's throat, and then he pushed him away and made his way out of the door.

Tony coughed as he stumbles back, landing on his ass. That was the second time he'd been choked out by the god.

Right, enemy.

He doesn't know how long he just sat there staring into nothing, trying to get his thoughts back to where they needed to be. Long enough for his hair to dry completely. He stands eventually, when his stomach growls, and dresses and leaves for the kitchen, prying to anyone that would listen that he doesn't run into Loki. The last thing he wanted to do was to have another lover's quarrel.


	9. Chapter 9

_A: Okay, so, playing catch-up today. But uh, updates biweekly (Tuesdays and Thursdays), and any important announcements will be posted on my tumblr (my writing one not my main account.)_

* * *

Loki had walked straight to his room after. Once in, he let go. His skin immediately turned blue, his eyes red, and the whole room froze instantly. He didn't bother to try to control his body, he just let out the destructive nature of his Jötunn form, and he was almost gratified while looking around himself to see what was happening around him. Even the robe he was wearing froze at the contact with his body. And then, he went opening the windows and looked out, his arms crossed on the edge.

Everything was frozen around him, and for once it sounded good enough to him. He preferred it that way for now, without needing to hold back, without the necessity of keeping up a spell to not hurt anybody.

Only in the evening, did the ice surrounding his door melt, and he walked out of the room to go drinking something. Still, he was not hungry. He opted just for some icy lemonade that he drank at the table, legs crossed as he did. He was still in his Jötunn form, and he didn't care much about that. But yes, now he was trying to not freeze everything.

* * *

Tony spent the entire day in his workshop, working on Mark, whatever number it was, and ignoring anything coming from his AI.

Actually he spent all of the next day down there too. Half drunk, running off of energy drinks and granola bars, working on his next suit, playing AC/DC too loud, silently praying for some douche bag to attack New York. He was feeling destructive.

Maybe he should attend that gala Pepper had told him about. It might be fun. He could get drunk, find some girl; preferably with long black hair and green eyes (he was having a craving), and finally get laid for once.

Huh, didn't sound half bad.

Humming to himself, Tony heads upstairs. He's actually quite happy, despite everything weighing heavily on his mind.

Happy enough that he dumps the rest of the amber liquid he was drinking down the sink as he stepped into the kitchen.

Seeing Loki did dampen his mood, a lot actually, but Tony kept his smile and continued humming as he grabbed a fizzy water and an apple from the fridge. He didn't say anything to the god, didn't even look over at the taller man, although if he were honest he still felt terrible about the shower. Even if Loki attempted to choke him.

Loki didn't speak either when Tony came in. He just continued sipping his lemonade, keeping his eyes steady on the man. If they weren't already red on their own, they would be blood-shot any way.

It was a strange situation because he was both glad he was being ignored and, at the same time, very pissed off for this.

He released the spell just a little, enough to have the temperature in the room drastically lower because of his body, just to see how the man would react.

Tony took a bit of his apple, and chewed slowly. He avoided the Jötunn's gaze, afraid of what he'd do if he did. Not of what Loki would do, what Tony himself would do.

Then the temperature dropped swiftly, and he shivered. And he couldn't stop shivering.

"Dude! Seriously?" Tony questioned harshly as he glares at the man. "What a-are you eight?" Great, he was stuttering it was that cold. Rolling his eyes, he grabs his bottle of water and leaves the room.

"I'm doing nothing," he answered with a careless shrug, still sipping his lemonade as he did.

That was actually the truth, he was doing nothing. That was not even a spell, that was his nature. And Stark even said 'handsome' when he saw him the first time. When he walked out of the room, Loki followed after him, nonchalantly blowing frozen air in his direction. Now he would have fun in his own way.

Tony shivered again. This couldn't be happening. Why the hell had he even agreed to house the villain in the first place? This wasn't part of the deal.

"Seriously, Loki." He shivers once more. "Quit with the cold. I don't do cold."

_Malibu_. God, he missed Malibu. Maybe he should leave for Malibu. He wouldn't have to deal with a crazy demi-god in Malibu.

"Oh, don't you?" he asked, showing a very surprised expression. "It seemed to be you liked this form very much, yesterday. The cold is part of it."

He continued, moving a few steps closer and running his cold fingertips along the line of the man's shoulders. They weren't cold enough to leave frostbite, but well... cold. Even Loki's lemonade had frozen into ice, in his glass.

Tony stopped at the feeling of Loki touch. "Just because I found you cute, doesn't mean I like everything about you." He rolls his eyes. "The villain thing for instance. Not a big fan. And stop touching me. I thought we agreed that wasn't a good idea?"

"It's a bad idea when you decide that every touch means 'please, Anthony, fuck me'," he responded, his body slowly turning into its Æsir form.

He did it only so that he could warm up his hand enough to melt his lemonade. He hadn't finished yet, he wanted more of it. And he sipped it again, then, easily reaching the couch and sitting down upon it even if he was blind again.

Tony quickened his pace and stepped out of one of the large glass doors leading to his balcony. He sighs, basking in the sudden warmth. Yeah, Malibu is a good idea. It was warm in Malibu.

Fine. _Fine_. Okay, so yeah, Tony had pretty much sexed up every time Loki touched him. He'll admit that. But that was it.

He walks over to the patio set and sits down. He sips at his water and rests his chin on his crossed arms on the table. He looks out over the city, his eyes filling up with the golden reflections off the glass of skyscrapers. He smiles a little, remembering why he built here in the first place.

He was being ignored again.

Fine.

_Perfect_.

He finished his lemonade and, walking cautiously once more, brought the glass back to the kitchen, leaving it in the sink after finding it with his hand.

And then, silently, he walked back to the stairs. _Fourteen_. He remembered while going downstairs. Now that he was learning to know the house, maybe he preferred to remain blind 24/7 than ever turning in his Jötunn form again.

Tony stood an hour later, and returned inside. Loki was gone, again. Probably left pouting, again. Because apparently Tony was being a dick, again. Whatever. He takes a seat on the couch, turning on the TV again. It occurred to him that he was being really lazy as of late, but he could give two shits at the moment. He fell asleep on the couch again.

Loki didn't sleep that night. He just remained in his bed, laying on his back and with his hands crossed on his stomach, hoping he would fall asleep soon. In the end, in the morning, he went for a shower without having slept a little, created some clothes around his body and sat in front of the mirror, despite his lack of sight.

Now, if part of him could still see, there had to be something he could do for seeing again like this as well. He tried different spells, and he almost gave up, when it seemed to him to hear Frigga's voice in his head telling him to focus. Something for correlating his Jötunn and Æsir form, that would combing those two conditions.

It took almost two exhausting hours, but eventually, things became clearer... In every way. He blinked a couple of times, and he could see as if he just woke up. He washed his face with cold water and focused more.

He had to show green eyes while trying to keep the Jötunn nerves. It was a spell, he wouldn't see if he broke it, but he could make it. And eventually, when he looked back up at the mirror, he saw two brilliant green eyes staring back at him. He smiled. It was only be thanks to Frigga if he made this. Now, he would have to focus on that spell for... the rest of his life. He would grow accustomed to it.

Smiling happily, he went upstairs again and straight to the kitchen, ignoring the sleeping Stark until the phone rang and the man ignored it. Sighing, he went picking up the device, he talked for about five minutes with Miss Potts about how much someone could hate Stark, and then he went to the man, laying his hand on his shoulder and shaking him.

"Anthony. Wake up. Anthonyyyy!"

The last thing Tony wanted to do was wake up. He'd had such a wonderful dream. He'd been dancing at that gala, with that little black-haired beauty he wanted to find. She was dressed in long, sparkly green gown that accentuated her every curve perfectly. And the way she moved... He was just leading her to his bedroom when the phone rang. After dream him tried answering the phone twice, he realized that his actual phone was ringing and at this point he was perfectly fine ignoring the call.

If it was important they'd leave a message. He returned to the woman in his dream, trying to fall back into a deep sleep. Of course it wasn't to last.

Loki's wake up call should have been expected. He couldn't go a length of time without having to deal with the trickster somehow.

"Five more minutes," he mumbles turning over, facing away from Loki.

Rolling his eyes, Loki picked the glass of water Stark had left from the previous night and poured what remained of the liquid on the billionaire's head.

Tony gasped his eyes shooting open.

"I'm so sorry to disturb, but Miss Potts just called for reminding you of the meeting you have this afternoon, and the gala tonight," he announces, with clear sarcasm when apologizing.

He left him there again, making his way back to the kitchen for preparing some tea. That would be his breakfast.

"What the hell? Do you have to wake me up?" he asks glaring at the god as he walked away. He sighs as he stands and follows him. Getting another glass of water, he continues to glare at Loki. Childish was the word that circled his head. The God was childish.

He opened his mouth to share his observation but then he'd just be the pot calling the kettle black.

Loki finished preparing his tea and sat at the table again, sipping it as he stared at the man with his newly found green eyes.

"What have you done to upset Miss Potts so much?" He asked then, remembering how much she was inclined to talk not so pleasantly of him earlier. He was sure he and her would become great friends.

Tony scoffed, the noise sounding slightly amused. "It's more like what haven't I done. She gets ticked off at every little thing I do as of late. And willingly offering my home to you is just the icing on the cake."

He finally meets his gaze and shivers. There was something...

"It's a mystery how a single man can piss off so many at the same time." He commented, taking another sip of his tea. Even Fury and Rogers seemed to be pissed off at him. Now Loki and Miss Potts as well.

"It's all in a name, babe," he replies with a wink.

It was like Loki was staring right at him except that was impossible. He was in his Æsir form. Tony squints before realizing.

"Your eyes are green."

He grinned when he noticed his eyes. "That's how they normally look."

He smiles back at Loki. It was contagious. "Your eyes have not been green this past few days, ya know. But it looks good. You don't have to keep up the illusion you know. It's just you and me."

Yes. Illusion. It actually was, so Stark was right, but why should he break it down if he could see perfectly with it. It was not even a proper illusion, it was a mix of different spells.

Grinning, he stood from his chair and went to pick up the magazine Fury brought during his visit, and opened it to the article about Stark.

"You were right. They could take a better picture. It seems you are about to sneeze here."

"Yeah." He chuckled. He actually remembered when the picture was snapped. He'd been at some charity event and the girl sitting next to him had on the one perfume he was allergic- hold on.

Tony dropped his smile and stared in awe. Wait... What!? Could he... Did he...

"You can see?" When had that happened?

"Close your mouth or flies will get in," he teased, changing page for reading articles about fashion. He was surely much more interested to that than Stark's social life anyway.

"Mh. Let's say that Odin undervalued my power," he answered with a grin, glancing up at him before returning to the article. He was rather pleased to read that green was back in fashion.

Tony jaw snapped shut, his teeth clicking audibly. "Okay, but doesn't it tire you to keep up the illusion or spell or whatever?" He frowns. "I mean you can't possible stay like this for like however long you live right?"

"Of course it's tiring. I'm not used to that yet. Though, when I go to sleep, or all I do is laze around, I can break the spell. For the rest of the time, I'll continue it." Soon enough, Loki had finished his tea and he could leave the mug in the sink, handing then the magazine back to Stark. "You will surely find it more entertaining than me."

Tony sets his empty glass in the sink, right next to Loki's mug and takes the magazine.

"Oh, surely. Let me just keep up with the Kardashians," he says sarcastically. "Yeah, no. You're far more entertaining than some gossip mag that gets everything wrong. But unfortunately for you I have a meeting I have to get ready for." He smiles as he pushes past Loki. "I probably won't see you for the rest of the day. I won't be home till late. Don't wait up for me."

"What makes you think I would have waited?" he asked as he watched the man leaving. He would, actually, probably since he had nothing better to do. He was alone, with technology he didn't know.

He chuckles. "It's a saying. I didn't- you really need to catch up on pop culture."

"No, I don't. See if you can find some chocolate while you're out." He walks to the library. Now he would decidedly read. And maybe he would find something else to do later. He might even freeze the pool and go ice skating.

Chocolate? So the god had a sweet tooth. Interesting to know. Tony returns to his room, showers and dresses for the meeting. That was down stairs in a conference room. Which is where he goes. With Pepper. Who was pissed at him. Apparently. This was going to be great.

After Stark had left, it took a couple of hours at the most for Loki to read any and all of Shakespeare's play, poems or anything else he could find. He could say he liked Shakespeare now. But then, he still had nothing to do.

He did as he thought, he returned to the pool and froze. He only needed to turn into his Jötunn form a moment and then dig his hand in the water. And then, he took off his boots and with bare foot, started skating absently on the ice. Nothing too entertaining, but it would help spending time.

Loki spent most of the time skating all around the pool. Eventually, though, he grew tired and let the ice melt. But he still remained down there. He was almost sure Stark would arrive with a girl to spend his night with, and he wanted to give him enough time to disappear in his room with her.


	10. Chapter 10

___A: Playing catch-up. Also! There is a (we'll I say yummy) scene that, well, you'll see._

_Note to self_, Tony thinks for the millionth time that night, _send Pepper flowers and chocolates in the morning_.

An unhappy Pepper meant an unhappy CEO and that meant rough meetings and drops in stock. Which of course was far from good.

He never did find that girl. The one with emerald eyes and long black hair. Then again he didn't stay very long at the gala. Turns out he really didn't want to go.

On the way home from the museum, at least he thought it was a museum, he stopped off at a store and bought chocolate for Loki; tea, too since he passed by it and knew the box at home was nearly gone.

It was oddly domestic of him. Tony Stark did not do domesticity. He tried for Pep, though it didn't work out. That's probably why she was mad.

When he finally made it home, he dropped the paper bag of groceries off before he rushed to his room to change out of that damned penguin suit.

Loki returned upstairs for some water, he noticed the bag on the table and he went looking inside. Chocolate. He smiled and took a piece of it, sticking it into his mouth. It was the first thing he ate in days. He loved sweets, he couldn't help it. He was lucky he didn't eat much, because he would be no different from Volstagg now, otherwise.

It was too early for Tony to go to bed. He had this thing about not going to bed before 11 on school nights. And since he actually had to actual work, it was a school night. And he was hungry. The gala really didn't have edible food.

So, in a pair of red plaid pajama bottoms and a black wife beater top that still hinted at the arc reactor, he padded barefoot into the kitchen in search of something more sustainable than shrimp appetizers.

Loki was happily biting a piece of chocolate, when he looked up at the man with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm sure not many girls would be in line for your bed if they saw you like that," he teased, still eating.

Tony rolled his eyes (he was doing that a lot lately) and headed for the fridge. He wanted bacon and eggs.

"I'm playing the "I'm single and I don't care" card at the moment." Glancing at Loki with a brow cocked and a smirk in place, he wonders: "You enjoying the chocolate? I got you more tea too, if you didn't see. I didn't know how much you had left."

"Yes, I've noticed," he responded, glancing back at the bag. He didn't know how much was left either, so that was good. But still, he was giving more attention to the chocolate.

"You look terrible," he insisted. And his chocolate was finished already. "Are you really preparing breakfast at midnight?"

Okay, now it was obvious that Stark was alone. He didn't bring any lady home, why?

"I want bacon," he replies. "Is there a problem with breakfast at midnight? Why do bacon and eggs have to be breakfast foods? Can they not be eaten at any time? Is there a law against it? Because is like to see it," Tony rants though his tone is light and joking. "Are you really eating chocolate at midnight? All that sugar and caffeine will keep you up."

"There is a reason why it's called 'breakfast'. Chocolate, instead, is not associated with any meal. And it's days since I last ate, so I have the right to eat anything that might make me feel slightly hungry." He responded, throwing the empty box of chocolate in the trash then.

"Yeah, there's a reason. But I don't listen to reason."

"Why are you alone?"

Tony pauses. That was... Not what he was expecting. He continues frying his bacon without saying anything while his mind races for a second. Why was he alone?

"Why do you care?"

"I don't. I'm just curious. You seemed to be frustrated."

After he pushed him away _twice_. He wouldn't have been surprised at all if Stark came home with a girl. Or, probably, he didn't trust having innocents around Loki. He just shrugged it off and settled to prepare some tea.

"I didn't stay at the gala the whole time. And when I was there, I didn't see any one to suit my tastes." He smiles mischievously. "Or would you have preferred that I didn't bring a girl home in hopes that my resident god would bed me?" He finishes cooking his meal and loads it onto a plate. Moving to the table, he starts to eat. "Hate to break it to you, but that thought never crossed my mind."

Loki raised his eyebrow. "Lie. I wouldn't have been surprised if that was actually the reason, but first of all, I never considered it to be the only option. Second: you are lying, because it did cross your mind," he said casually.

As soon as the water was boiling, he poured it into a mug and put a teabag inside.

"You can't lie to the God of Lies, Anthony. It's too stupid."

"It did not!" Tony argues back, although he knew it was futile. "Alright, fine. It did cross my mind. But it was only after I left and was getting your chocolate."

He shrugs and pushes at the remainder of his food with his fork.

"I was looking for something specific, and none of the women at the gala fit that description."

Mh. He could take that. Stark returning home alone and still hoping Loki would reach him in his bed.

"And what was the description?" he asked, sitting down again with his tea in his hand.

It didn't sound as a lie, he might as well know what was it that he was looking for. Still, he was just curious. _Just_ curious.

Brown eyes flick up for a second before they return to look at his plate. Tony stabs at a bit if egg, albeit he doesn't take it to his lips.

"Tall," he murmurs. "Messy black hair, green eyes."

He bites his lip as he feels a blush creep up the back of his neck and tug at his ears.

"I-" he sighs. After a deep breath or two he looks up at Loki. "I can't seem to get you out of my head."

As the man spoke, Loki was even more... Actually, he really didn't know how to define it. Flattered that Stark looked around for his female version? Upset because he was still trying to get the God to his bed?

"So it seems." he just answered.

As he looked at the man, he slowly turned into his female form; exactly as when he was a male, even as a woman he had a perfect body, the same green eyes, but with longer hair, covering at least half of his/her back.

"Was it this what you were looking for?" she asked with a smile.

Tony felt his mouth go dry as the woman literally of his dreams appeared before him.

"Uh," he clears his throat. "Yeah. Yeah, it is."

He looks him (her?) up and down once, twice, a third time, undressing her with his eyes before he returns his stare back to his plate.

"I really wish you wouldn't tease me like this. I feel bad enough as it is for molesting you in the shower." The billionaire cleared his throat. "Twice."

She chuckled absently. "The first time, I was totally up for it." she responded, quickly finishing her tea as she did. She lay the cup in the sink and approached to him of a few steps, licking absently her red lips.

"Maybe the third time will be the right one." she assumes, leaning over to whisper into the man's ear.

And no, she wasn't teasing. It was obvious it was a bad idea, that he would regret it dearly, but sexual frustration was nothing Loki could stand.

"Loki," Tony breathes, straining himself. If he moved he would not stop. Not this time. "Do not start this if you aren't willing to finish. Because I won't stop this time." He turns his head to meet her gaze. "And if we're going to do this, I want you. The real you, not this woman."

Tony briefly thinks over his words and sees where the god(dess?) might over think it but he doesn't correct himself.

Well, Stark saying that he wouldn't top was not reassuring. He was lucky he had no intention of stopping this time.

"This woman is still me," he tells, though he had understood perfectly what he meant. But, anyway, with a grin still wide on her lips, he returned to his male form, the _Æsir_ one. "If you want the real me, I would be blue and you wouldn't be able to touch me. You will have to accept this." he responded, walking out of the kitchen. "Just one thing: not a word about what will happen. No one will know."

Okay. Ouch. That was offending. Why did Loki care he told anyone? Not that he would. What happened between him and a lover generally stayed between them. Unless the other partner told. Still it stung that Loki had to tell him not to say anything. He wasn't going to call him out. He wanted this far too much to attempt to anger him.

He follows the god out of the kitchen, catching up and wrapping his arm around Loki's waist to lead him to his bedroom.

Loki grins as he covers Tony's hand with his own.

"Totally accepting," Tony says his voice rough with arousal.

Loki didn't doubt Stark would accept. He was decidedly a sex-addict, if he was offered the chance to sleep with someone he was so attracted to, Tony was going to jump at the chance.

"Did I need only to propose it for you to get aroused?" He asked with an amused smile, turning to walk backwards towards Stark's bedroom, so that he could look at him. Already, his hands slipped under the man's t-shirt, brushing his long, cold fingertips on his abs as they walked.

Tony hummed with mirth. "I was aroused the moment you turned into a chick, sweetheart." He grasps Loki's waist and pulled the man closer. "I wasn't going to do anything about it until you proposed it. I would've taken you as her, but I got the feeling this was a one time deal, and I prefer you like this."

"Then make it be good enough to not make it be a 'one time deal'."

Yes, it was a clear challenge on his part. After all, if they enjoyed this night enough, why not repeat it? And Loki's ability at shape-shifting gave them so many possibilities...

Tony leans up and nips at Loki's bottom lip as he kicks his bedroom door shut behind them.

Loki hummed and shamelessly brought his hand behind the man's nape, pulling him closer and kissing him passionately, his tongue making its way into the other's mouth.

Silvertongue, they called him. For some reason the thought just cropped up. He walks Loki back to the bed, planning on succeeding in the obvious challenge. After all, he'd never heard any complaints from any of his bedmates, man or woman.

He drags his lips from the God's and starts kissing his jaw.

"Oh, I will," he swears lowly into Loki's ear. The god tilted his head slightly to give him enough access to his pale skin.

Tony pushes his lover for the night onto his bed, grinning devilishly.

He didn't expect being shoved down on the bed like that, but it didn't make Loki back down. Instead, he sat on the edge, his legs spread, and he hooked his fingertips in the loops of Tony pants and pulled him closer.

Immediately, he lifted the man's shirt enough to allow him to take it off first, and then started uncovering as much as he could of his body. Looking up at him, he leaned over and lay a light kiss on his stomach, tracing then every line of his toned body with his tongue.

Tony hummed lowly, the sound almost a moan, at the feeling of Loki's tongue.

_Silver indeed_, he thinks.

Before Tony could throw his head back and relinquish his thoughts to the feeling, he pushes Loki farther back on the bed. Loki's legs spread further, a smirk on the man's face, and Tony kneels between them.

His hands run under the god's shirt as kisses the man deeply once more. The shirt's ruched up, pulled up and over a head of messy black hair and tossed somewhere behind him. Tony kisses down his jaw, down his neck, down his chest, his tongue flicking out every so often tasting the pale skin.

Loki's fingers find purchase in the mortal's hair, a soft moan leaving his lips. His long legs drape themselves around Tony's waist, pulling him closer.

Tony smirks, running his hands on his sides up and down and up again with featherlight touches. He bring his lips back up and wraps them around a pale nipple. He slides his hand back down again to work at Loki's trousers.

He looks up to gaze at Loki, the pupils of his brown eyes blown wide, as his hips grind down to meet the ones found below him. A moan slips from his throat and he lavishes attention to the other perk pebble.

Loki looked at the man, a grin upon his lips as he bit down on his bottom lip, while his hands moved down from his hair to his neck and down his back, touching every inch of skin he could reach from there. Loki's fingers leave icy trials across Tony's skin and he shivers.

Tony finally manages to undo Loki's pants and he shoves at them. Loki doing the same with his.

Tony gasps as his hips meet Loki's once more looking for friction.

"God, Loki," Tony breathes. He buries he face into the crook of Loki's neck and sighs. He presses his lips to the pale skin and sucks on it, marking him.

"I am indeed a God," Loki joked with a chuckle, that was cut off almost immediately by a needy moan, given by Tony's naked body touching his own so marvelously.

His fingers found the billionaire's hair once more as he threw his head back. Being marked like this would make it hard to explain in the future, considering Loki's 'no one must know' rule, but for the moment, he didn't care. He just wrapped his legs tightly around his waist and pulled him closer while rocking his own hips as well.

He growls at the overwhelming sensations. Loki's skin pressed against his is is cool, a stark contrast to the heat coursing through his body.

"Then let me, mhmm, worship you," Tony jokes back thrusting harder.

"You can do everything you want," he whispered in response, his short nails digging into tanned skin and scratching slightly as he did.

Tony gives a smile as pulls out of the man's embrace for a second. "Hold on." He reaches for his nightstand to grab a little bottle and foil wrapped package.

Again, he complained when Stark pulled away, but he took the chance for relaxing a moment and catch his breath. He curiously looked at what Stark was doing, pulling up on his elbows for seeing better.

"What are you doing?" he asked, trying to understand what the bottle and package were for.

Tony only smiled. "Just relax, babe."

Sitting back on his haunches, he looks over the body laid out before him. He runs his calloused hands up Loki's thighs, leaning forward to press kisses on the inside of each one. He brings his head up just a bit and noses at the god's hardened member, breathing hotly on it.

_Babe_. What was wrong with Stark's capacity at understanding?

"No names," Loki quickly said, just to make it clear. And considering that Loki already left him alone and aroused twice, he should listen. If he was wise. Though, he closed his eyes again and relaxed as he was told, his fingers absently running through the man's hair.

"Are you going to complain if I try to suck you off this time?" Tony wonders as he grips Loki's hips tightly.

"Oh, do it. But I will use it against you the next time you will call me with a female name," he reminded him with an amused smile despite the shiver that ran up his spine.

Tony really didn't understand Loki's aversion to pet names. Or blow jobs. But he doesn't say anything only presses a kiss to the head of Loki's cock before he kisses back up Loki's stomach.

He settles himself in between Loki's hips and rubs their erections together, his fingers returning to card themselves through the mess of hair he enjoys so much. He peppers Loki's face with kisses for a moment before he reaches for the little vile once again.

Loki held Stark's hair a little tighter at the kisses, as much as he tightened the grip of his legs around his waist then.

"Why is my hair so special to you?" he asked, though chuckling as he did.

It was a mess, now, forming some sort of black crown around his head.

He didn't let him answer, anyway. As soon as he was close enough again, he cupped his face and pulled him in for another passionate kiss.

Tony chuckles. Even he didn't know why Loki's hair was special to him. He just liked it. He moans into the kiss, tugging at Loki's hair. His free hand finds the bottle that ended up far across the bed ("Really?").

He breaks away once again, and unlaced his hand from the god's hair. He pours a little of the bottle's contents onto his fingers and slicks them up before he reaches down between them to press a digit to Loki's puckered hole.

Loki opened his eyes once more and looked at Tony while he took the bottle. There was nothing like that in Asgard, but now he probably understood what that was for. So, he only waited, without moving his hands away from Tony's hair.

He shivered when Tony pressed the digit, a little for the impatience and the need, and a little for the feeling the lube gave.

"It's cold," he stated, laying comfortably back down with his eyes closed.

Sorry," Tony breathes, rubbing around the tight circle of muscle, "I should have warmed it in my palm first. Your body temperature probably isn't helping much." He pushes his finger in slowly, feeling Loki's muscles tense at the intrusion and hearing the god gasp.

He moves his finger once he feels Loki relax and clench around him. His mouth continues to ghost over pale skin, sucking little marks every now and then. Loki couldn't hold back from moving a little to try to take him deeper.

After a moment, Tony adds a second finger and continues to stretch him.

Loki couldn't hold back a moan. "More." He whispered.

Tony chuckled. "I don't want to rush and end up hurting you."

He does speed up his ministrations though, enough so that it was only a short time later that he added a third. All the little noises Loki makes only makes him harder, if it was possible.

With a third finger thrusting in as well, hitting that sweet spot inside him, Loki held tightly the man's hair, his back arched off of the bed in pleasure as he tried to hold back the louder sounds.

He draws Loki up for another passionate kiss, his free hand sinking into his hair once more. He really needed to know what it was about the god's hair. Loki's desperate while kissing him back.

Deciding he's stretched enough, Tony pulls his fingers out, prepares himself and positions himself at Loki's opening.

"Ready?" Tony asks, mostly just to spite the god.

"I was ready when we still were in the kitchen, don't make me wait any longer!"

A laugh escapes Tony's lips as he slowly pushes into Loki. He can't help but moan softly as he does. Loki's still tight, and clenching around him, which only makes the experience better.

It's slightly painful for Loki, having not bottomed for a very long while.

Tony sighs into the crook of his neck as he makes it all the way in.

"Don't hold back," Tony whispers as he lets the god adjust. "I want to hear you." And then he's moving, setting a steady pace. Not too fast. Not too slow.

Loki wrapped his arms around him and held him tightly, his face buried in the man's neck. The pain didn't last long, as soon as Stark started thrusting and hitting his prostate again, the pain was replaced by intense pleasure, and he found himself biting down rather hard on the man's shoulder for trying to remain as silent as possible, despite the mortal's request.

The bite was painful, Tony'll admit that, and it'd probably leave a bruise. Which was well and fine because he left more than his fair share of marks on Loki. But he really couldn't care at the moment. He was too lost in the pleasurable feel of Loki's body.

He quickens his pace, the feel of the god clenching around him driving him to do so, grunting and moaning with enjoyment.

There's a soft mantra of "_Oh, fuck_"s and "_Loki_"s that escape his mouth in between. Why hadn't they done this sooner?

Tony was violently hitting that sweet spot inside him over and over again, and quicker and harder each time, and he felt he could literally go insane in this way and enjoy this madness.

"Holy Gods..." he whispered on the man's skin, scratching his back lightly despite his short nails. Now he felt it would be a good moment for kissing the man, drown his moans on the other's mouth, but he doubted he could make it, he couldn't even catch his breath.

Tony was close. Oh, was he close. But there was no way he was going to come before Loki. Not while he had the god at his mercy like this. He reaches down between them and grasps Loki member stroking it to bring the trickster over the edge. He brushes his lips against kiss swollen master of mischief's.

"Come for me Loki," he breathes.

Loki couldn't hold back the moans anymore, not that he was very successful in the first place. He let out every sound of pleasure that he could feel in his throat, he let it come out, louder and louder as he got closer to his climax. Tony shivered at the sudden loud sounds escaping Loki. And it almost did him in.

Instead of answering to heated words, the god leaned over and licked and bit Stark's lips. He still tried to hold back, for as long as he could for feeling this pleasure for longer, but he had to give up to his needs; with a low, breathy moan, he came into the mortal's hand.

The image of Loki as he rode out his orgasm is what finally pushed Tony over the edge. His rhythm faltered and his hips were sporadic and he climaxed moments after Loki.

Loki didn't let him go still for some moments, keeping him tightly against himself until the man's seed filled him, and really, it was a great sensation. But he let him go immediately after so that he could move away. Breathing heavily, Tony pulled out and rolled off the god to stare up at the ceiling.

He loved the post-orgasmic after glow. Always had. He wanted to roll over and curl up into the god's side, remembering how it felt to be in his embrace nights ago, although he didn't know how that was going to end. And he enjoyed his dignity. There was no need to screw this up now. He did, however, turn his head and stared at Loki's face.

Loki instead, took some moments for catching his breath, his eyes closed. And then, he sat back up, moving to the edge of the bed and standing. He stretched quietly, and then picked up his clothes for dressing up again.

Tony knew it. He knew it was going to happen.

Still, he hadn't prepared himself for the overwhelming urge to reach over and stop Loki from leaving.

He doesn't of course, just keeps silent as he stands himself and pick up his clothes. He watches as Loki dresses again, a small smile tugging on his lips.

Ha, he just fucked a god into his mattress. How many people could say that?

He sighs to himself as he heads into the bathroom for a shower. Loki should be gone by the time he got out.

Loki was just putting on his shirt when he heard Stark's footsteps going for the bathroom. With a raised eyebrow and an offended expression, he followed after him.

"How impolite, not even saying 'goodnight'," he complained, pushing Stark against the tiles; he kissed him almost violently. "If I don't show up at the same hour, tomorrow, come to my room." he doubted he would be in the mood to walk - or that he would be able to.

He turned on his heels and left Stark's bedroom then, heading back to his own. Mh, yes. He might have liked it more than he could admit.

Tony smiled as he watched the god leave the room. That kiss was rough, and Loki's words sent a shiver down his spine. He wanted more. Or at least that's what it sounded like.

Ha! He'd made a God moan his name as he came. If that wasn't an ego boost, he didn't know what was.

He steps into the shower, letting the warm water cascade down and relax his muscles.

He settles into bed minutes later. He didn't dream that night.


	11. Chapter 11

___A: Okay, so, basically morning afters are always a little awkward. No wonder Tony tries to avoid them._

* * *

The following morning, when Loki woke up, he stretched a little but he didn't stand. Dammit. There was that rather annoying pain to his back.

He couldn't even blame Stark for that, the God simply wasn't used to it anymore.

It took him almost an hour to him to find enough will to stand and get out of his room, making his way to the kitchen without bothering to make the spell again. Even when blind, he had learned how to reach the kitchen, so there was no reason to tire himself as soon as woken up.

Tony was sitting at the table eating a bowl of Lucky Charms when Loki walked in. He smiles up at the god, memories of the night before rushing through his mind.

"Morning," he says as he sips at his drink. "You slept well, I hope?"

Loki hadn't even noticed Stark's presence in the room. He was almost sure the man was still asleep, or in his precious workshop. If he knew he would be seen, he would have done something for his hair before showing up. It was a real mess now.

"Mh," he just responded.

And now, for preparing his tea, he had to make up the spell again for not risking to burn his hand. It would have been rather unpleasant.

"Why are you awake already?" he asked absently as he put the water to boil on the stove.

Tony shrugs. "Couldn't fall back to sleep. It's really not that early." He eats another spoonful of cereal. "And what do you care?" he wonders, not harshly though. "Am I disturbing your early morning ritual?" He teases as he picks up his glass of orange juice. "I apologize if I am. Don't mean to piss off my resident God of Mischief."

"Not everything I say is for annoy-" He interrupted himself with a yawn, covering his mouth with his hand. "-ment, Stark. It's just odd to find you out of your bed or your workshop," he pointed out, pouring the water in a mug and leaving inside the teabag for some minutes.

Tony frowns slightly. "I'm not always in my bed or in the workshop." Technically it was true. "It's just been an off week. I'm trying to get used to a live in guest."

He picks his dishes up and sets them in the sink. He should deal with those today. Actually, today was a good day to do some cleaning. He could give the maid they day off tomorrow.

"Usually," he responded, going to sit down at the table as he sipped his tea.

He felt incredibly tired and for no reason at all. He did sleep, but it hadn't been enough. He was decidedly not used to, anymore, an active sex life. It had been about four years since the last time he slept with anybody, though decidedly a short amount of time for a god. After Thor's exile he had always been far too busy at trying to conquering here and there.

Tony smirked. "You seem tired." He really shouldn't do it. He was going to get thrown out a window for finishing this thought. Really need to stop. "Did I wear you out last night?" And now he waits. Loki can see now. It shouldn't be long.

Loki held himself back from sighing, rolling his eyes, stabbing furiously or be incredibly aggressive. He just pretended Stark said nothing too annoying. Maybe if he didn't give him any satisfaction, he would stop it.

"I am merely not used to it anymore," he just answered, sipping his tea quietly then.

Okay. Didn't expect that. "Oh," _that's right Tony, drop the subject._ "Alright. Didn't see that coming. Well, uhm, I'm cleaning house today so..." Wow that didn't sound like him at all, this must be what it feels like to be on your best behavior. "...if you need me I'll be... Around."

Loki raised his eyebrow as he threw a glance to the man. "You didn't see it coming? When do you think I had the chance to have sex in the past years?" he asked, sipping his tea.

_He does have a valid point_, Tony thinks.

He probably didn't have a chance to with everything that went on. At least, not with what Thor described. Although, the big guy didn't normally exaggerate unless it dealt with hunting, but most hunting stories constipated of a lot of truth stretching. He smiles and winks before he left the room.

Loki watched the man leaving and sighed. Escaping again. He doubted he would truly clean, anyway, Stark didn't look like the kind of man who would do anything like that. Sighing again, he picked a book from the library and went sat down at the couch for reading a bit.

Loki spent the whole day on the couch. A little reading, a little nap taking, more reading and more sleeping.

In the end, the book had fallen to the floor, and he was curled up on himself with his head on the armrest and his face almost totally hidden by wild hair. He could really use the sleep.

When he opened his eyes again, he didn't even know what time it was, and he didn't care. He just muttered a complaint for being awake already and turned on the other side.

Tony did clean. It wasn't anything spectacular. Just some laundry (yes, he knew how). He cleaned the kitchen too. And his bathroom. A little more than he usually would. Just enough to call the flat clean so he could give Mina the day off tomorrow.

Tony had been passing by with a basket of clothes when he spotted Loki on the couch. He didn't want to anger the god by waking him up, but that couch was uncomfortable. At least to sleep on. He would know, having slept on it twice this week. He sets the basket on a chair before quietly walking over.

"Loki," he says softly. He places his hand gently on a shoulder, his thumb automatically brushing in circles. "Lokes, why don't you go crawl in a bed? It's much more comfortable, and you'll sleep better there." He brushes Loki's hair away from his face. "Come on."

Loki muttered a complaint again. The couch indeed was not the most comfortable place of all, but he really wasn't in the mood for moving now. He would complain about any possible pain later, maybe. But Stark was insisting, and he really didn't want to move. Probably he wouldn't be able to either.

"Carry me." He muttered, opening his arms slightly, though keeping his eyes closed.

"Yeah, okay." Tony rolled his eyes but he obliged, scooping Loki up into his arms. As soon as he was picked up, Loki loosely wrapped his arms around the mortal's neck and lay his head on his shoulder, keeping his eyes closed.

Tony carries him to his bedroom bridal style. It was the closest bed after all. He manages not to make a bride joke. Loki's threat about calling him a feminine name still hot in his mind. He liked breathing, thank-you very much. He lays the trickster down on the bed, pulling the comforter out from beneath him and covering him with it.

"There. More comfortable now, aren't ya?" He smiles as he goes to retrieve his basket of clothes so he can put them away.

He was already half the way for falling asleep again, and the warmth of Stark's body was not helping him staying awake. He barely realized when he was moved on the bed and covered, he didn't even answer. Though, he just reached out his hand and moved his lips as if he was actually talking even if no sound came out, some sort of request for the warmth to stay, but Stark was probably gone already, and his arm fell back down on the bed as he fell asleep once more.

Tony made quick work of putting clothes away and returning the basket to the laundry room.

Returning to his room, he smiles at the sleeping man. In his sleep, Loki had curled up again, holding his knees to his chest as well as his arms, curling him as much as he could for creating all the possible warmth. He looked so young and innocent, even if Tony knew the truth. It was strange.

A year ago, hell a week ago, he hated the trickster. He still did, if he was being honest. A week ago he was pissed off that he'd been the one to draw the short straw (even if he did chose it on purpose), and had to house the bastard. A week ago he figured the first thing he'd do if the god ever approached him was punch him.

Loki had destroyed New York, his tower, threw him out a window and almost killed him. Not to mention, became the cause of a year's worth of PTSD and never ending nightmares. Yet, he wanted nothing more than to climb in the bed and cuddle up next to the God. And against his better judgment he did.

Being a Frost Giant, too much warmth was a real torture, but the right amount... It was just so pleasant he would always love it. And when he felt a better source of warmth close enough to him, he shifted closer without even bothering to check what it was, ending up with his face buried in the man's hair and his arms loosely wrapped around him.

Tony smiles as Loki shifts. Maybe it was a reaction from the night before, or maybe it was because like Loki, he hadn't slept with anyone in a while. Granted, his while was much shorter than Loki's while. But he was heavily enjoying the man's company in his bed. Even if it wasn't in a sexual way.

Oddly, he was okay with that. Maybe they just need the comfort of each other. Nevertheless, Tony starts drifting to sleep, unconsciously moving closer towards him as he does.

* * *

Loki woke up several hours later, with no understanding of what the warm thing he was literally clinging onto was, how he reached a bed nor where he was. That was when he decided that maybe that spell for seeing again would be perfect once more.

He was lazily looking around the room from above Tony's shoulder, barely recognizing the man's room. Just in a second moment, he understood that the warm thing was actually the mortal. He moved slightly away, surprised. What...?

In a moment of amnesia, he even checked if he still had his clothes on. So, nothing happened. But, why? How did his reading a book turn into this? Though, as he watched Stark sleeping quietly, he stopped wondering and just lay back down, moving back close to him.

Though, he didn't close his eyes, he just looked at him. He was not that bad when he was silent...

Tony yawns awake and stretches shortly a little while later. His eyes stay shut and he tries to slow his breathing again to fall back asleep, because for once, he was actually having a pretty damn good dream.

It's a minute or two before he finally gives up and blinks his eyes open slowly. He'd completely forgotten he'd fallen asleep with Loki wrapped around him, until he found the god staring back at him, the enchanted expression long gone.

"Oh," he breathes. "Hello."

"Good morning," he responded, taking a little of distance from him. "Would you mind explaining me what's happening here?"

Tony smiled. It was almost mocking. "I found you asleep on the couch, woke you up enough to convince you to climb in A bed. You asked me to carry you, I figured why not. But, dude, despite being all tall and skinny, you're heavy. That and I wasn't rooting around your pockets for your key, so I just laid you in my bed. Climbed in later and you latched onto me like a barnacle the moment I did." He shrugs. "That was it."

That might have been embarrassing. Thank every holy God he did not blush easily. "Mh. I guess your warmth might have been appealing." He shrugged and turned to lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. "And I hope you don't subtly mean I am fat."

Tony scoffed. Oh, the chick jokes he could crack here.

"Of course not. I only meant that you weigh more than I had you pegged for. You're definitely not fat." He grins. "Don't forget that I know what you look like under all those clothes. And you're nothing but toned muscle. Not an ounce of fat on you."

Loki turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow when he spoke. Not because of the 'I know how you look beneath' speech, but for all the rest.

"Are you trying to flatter me because you are afraid your death could be painful and slow?" he questioned him as he almost childishly kicked him lightly in a way that should persuade him to say the truth.

"What? No!" Tony winced at the kick, not expecting it. "Am I not allowed to make an observation without being put in trial? Sheesh, try to compliment a gorgeous guy and suddenly you're the bad guy." He rolled his eyes and laughed at himself. "Okay, that time I flattered cause now you have me worried that I am going to die a slow and painful death."

"Well, you go from nearly insulting me to compliments. I have every right to put you in trial," he says as he sat up, though still looking at him. This movement caused long locks of black hair to fall on his face, but he didn't bother to move them away.

"Oh, so now you're scared." He grinned, leaning over towards him so much he could cross his arms on the man's chest and lay his head above them.

Tony's lips tug up into a smile. "I'm at the mercy of a merciless God that's already attempted to take over the world." He cards his fingers through Loki's hair. "Yeah, I'm a little scared."

Loki grinned again, crawling over until he was on top of the man. "What makes you think I'm not doing it again? Starting from an Avenger bed and slowly conquering all the rest." He joked, leaning for whispering those words on the man's lips.

Tony's hands fly to Loki's waist the moment he finds the trickster in too of him. "As long as my bed is the only one you stay in," he jokes back. "I don't like sharing."

"Claiming me as your property would be no different from being inferior to anybody in any other way," he pointed out, serious as he spoke those words. "Anyway, I doubt anybody else would be so reckless to trust me enough to sleep with me, in this moment. It's not like I can just go to someone else." he shrugged. Anyway, Stark was good enough in bed. Still, if he didn't talk too much.

"Oh great. So now I'm the only option," he says it with some mirth. He wouldn't mind being Loki's only option. Tony looks on thoughtfully. "Why _do_ you grow out your hair?"

Loki sighs softly and crawls off of him. "In Asgard, shorter hair is a sign of submission. My wife's hair was longer than mine, and it didn't really bother me, actually. In the family, instead... Queen, future King and King. So I still was the one with less importance, less power and I was forced to keep my hair short. Letting it grow is a sign of independence."

A tender smile graces his face as Loki tells his story. He understood Loki's reasoning. He'd most likely do the same. Although, he looks terrible with long hair. But something still stuck out.

"You were married?" he wonders softly.

As soon as he asks, part of him wants to take the words back. Wives were always a touchy subject. But considering he allowed Tony to fuck him into his mattress, she was either an ex-wife or a late wife. Divorce didn't seem like it would be popular in Asgard.

"Didn't I tell you about Sigyn? I was sure I did. We're still married simply because divorce doesn't exist in Asgard. We took separate ways centuries ago."

Tony raises his brows. "No, you didn't tell me about Sigyn. Other than death threats, insults, your annoyance at me, and the weird heart to heart we had the other day, you don't tell me much. So..." he says casually. "Does that mean I'm technically sleeping with a married man? Cause, I'm not so sure what I think of that."

_Heart to heart?_ Loki remembered none of that.

There were a few options, some of them were: doing it without realizing because of depression/tiredness/any other possible thing, he actually didn't consider it to be important what they said, or he had removed from his mind that event, since he didn't open up with anybody. He just snorted and looked up to heaven.

"Yes, Anthony. I am married, and I will be until me or Sigyn will die. Since I have no intention to take my own life and less than ever to kill her, so you will have to accept it or stop our encounters. It's not like she would just appear here and complain, anyway."

Tony grins stupidly at the sound of his full name. God, that was sexy. He sobers up a second later then.

"Oh, no, definitely not stopping our encounters. The other night too fantastic to stop. Definitely looking forward to a second go around." He wraps an arm around his bedmate absently.

"Did you love her?" Tony wonders. "I mean while you were actively married. Did you?" He could see Loki marrying for other reasons, especially if they just so casually split. Or maybe it wasn't casual. He didn't know. But he was curious.

When Stark insisted on Sigyn, Loki turned his back to him, even if he didn't move away his arm. He just didn't want to be seen so deeply disappointed and sad while talking about her.

"I knew I loved her the first time I saw her. And I will _always_ love her," he responded with a light shrug.

"Oh."

He should have realized. He turns on his side and wraps his other arm around the man. Tony hugs him tightly, pressing a kiss into the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." Nuzzling into the mess of hair, he sighs. "Come on," he says as his stomach growls. "Let's go eat. I'll find you something chocolatey."

Loki just sighed and closed his eyes. He had expected her to pay a visit while he was in that cell, he thought she would come, at least once, but she just disappeared. It was as if he didn't exist anymore for her. Rightfully.

"You can go. I'm not hungry." He shook his head slightly and pulled up the blankets again.


	12. Chapter 12

Tony stayed wrapped around Loki, trying to be a comforting presence. He wasn't entirely sure how he was doing. Sad Loki was almost as worrying as a mad Loki. Kisses are placed on any skin Tony can reach.

"I'm not letting you stay pouting in bed all day, b- Loki."

This no nickname thing was really starting to bug Tony. Most of the names coming out of his mouth were nicknames.

"I'm not pouting, I'm resting," he corrected, only glancing back at the man at the kisses. "I'm just not hungry, it doesn't mean you shouldn't eat either," Loki continued, turning to lay down on his own stomach.

He crossed his arms beneath the pillow and buried his face as well. He didn't like to talk of his marriage, and talking of his marriage always led to talking of his kids, and that was far too much to handle for him.

"Alright fine," Tony relents rolling away. "Don't join me. I'll just leave you here and I'll go eat. By myself. All alone. With no one to annoy me. Or complain about my presence." He smiles as he climbs out of bed and stretches. "_Hakuna matata_, then," he says as he leaves the room, glancing back at Loki before he turns the corner.

Loki smiled into the pillow as Stark spoke, victimizing himself so foolishly. How could he be so idiotic so often? Didn't he ever grow tired of it?

He turned to look at the man with a confused expression, though, at the _Hakuna Matata_. Was it a language Loki didn't know?

...Oh. Maybe another reference the God would never get. Rolling his eyes, he buried his face in the pillow again for some moments before he stood and followed after the man. He could use some tea now.

Tony had taken to humming the iconic song from The Lion King as he fixed himself another bowl of cereal in two days.

He switched the kettle on after making sure it had enough water in it, thinking he'd bring Loki a cuppa when it was ready. Then Loki walked into the kitchen. Tony smiles at the God.

"You're definitely Scar in this scenario. Which leaves me to be like Timon. But if we made you Simba. Then I'm Nala. Damn... That makes me the chick." He was just thinking aloud, not bothering to register he was doing so. Loki wouldn't have the faintest idea of what he was talking about. Which was kind of disappointing because every one needed to see that movie at least once in their life time.

The moment Stark started talking again, Loki rolled his eyes. He should have remained in bed. Or moved to his own bedroom. And locked the door.

"Am I supposed to know what is it that you are talking about?" he asked as he walked to the stove. Oblivious to what was the kettle was for - probably coffee, knowing Stark - he started preparing his own tea.

Tony glanced around still oblivious a moment before it dawns on him that his whole thought process was said out loud.

"Probably not, but I'm going to have to show you _The Lion King_. I'm pretty sure it's a law that everyone has to see it at least once." He stands and walks over to Loki. Placing his empty bowl in the sink on the way. "Seriously, we could spend the day in bed and do nothing but watch movies and you'd finally understand some of my references."

He was feeling domestic for once and maybe it had to do with making Loki sad first thing this morning. It was an apology, or a close to one as he could get with out saying the words "_I'm sorry_". _Again_. Even if he knows the god won't agree.

"I thank the Gods I do not respond to Midgardian laws, then," he explains, pouring the hot water into a mug and placing a teabag inside. He just looked at the water taking the shade of the tea slowly. He sighed and shook his head.

"I don't really want to get your references. Really, Stark. I joined you on bed only for sex, what makes you think I would like to do it for something different?" He was being cold again. Probably because he had opened up with him far too much for him to accept it. He had to remedy it.

Tony's heart drops to his stomach. Honestly, he needs to get over this... Infatuation or whatever it is with Loki. He keeps his smile up, though he's sure it's not as genuine as he wishes it to be.

"Yeah, no. I totally get it. I'm not going to go all chick flick because we slept together." That was the last thing on his list. Besides, he was fairly sure Loki would strangle him if he even attempted. "You shouldn't, indeed. You should know how it works, you have done it with everybody you have slept with," he threw the shot as he took the teabag out of the mug and threw it into the trash. He sat down at the table.

"I just wanted to apologize for this morning. I over stepped my boundaries."

Actually, if he was being truthful, he was never in his boundaries to begin with. He resigns with a sigh knowing that Loki wasn't going to fully warm up to him, ever most likely.

"You did, yes. You have done it far too often in the past few days, as you did again when asking me to join you for movies. Apologies imply the word 'sorry', not watching useless Midgardian forms of entertainment together." He continued and drank some of his tea, keeping his eyes away from the man as he spoke.

"Yeah, well, I didn't live with everyone I slept with," he snaps. His voice is like ice for once. Here they go again with the insults and hatred. It was a nice run while it lasted.

"You say it as if I ever asked for coming here," he responded with a roll of his eyes, preferring to give all his attention to the mug in his hands.

"I don't do apologies," he growls. "Not like everyone else. It didn't work that way in my house. If you weren't willing to spend time with someone or shower them with gifts, then you weren't truly sorry. So _sorry_ I can't apologize properly. _Sorry_ I keep fucking up. _Sorry_ that I'm actually trying be nice."

_Sorry that keep running away from my fucking issues_, he thinks as he storms out of the kitchen. It was a lovely day to spend locked down in his workshop.

Loki looked at the man storming off with a raised eyebrow. He guessed it meant no sex for that night. With a sigh, he finished his tea and moved to the living room for finding again the book he had previously started and moved to the roof. That place would be quiet enough for him to read.

Tony blames himself. Really, he has every right to. He should have treated Loki like the prisoner he is - _was_, his mind autocorrects - and had him locked in a cell. And he sure as hell shouldn't have purposely grabbed that shorter straw.

Damn Natasha for accidentally flashing him the lengths. None of this would have happened if she didn't.

Well, that's not true. Loki eventually would've escaped the cell, blind or not, and Tony would've made some sort of deal to get Loki to stay within the walls of the tower. And eventually they would have fallen into bed together.

That's just how Tony Stark worked. Damn him for wanting some sort of normalcy in a relationship for once. But why the hell did it have to be with the enemy? The question bothers him relentlessly as he continues his work on the newest suit. He doesn't bother to come up until the next morning.

* * *

Loki was a quick reader, and before midnight, he had finished the book and he was returning downstairs for putting it away and go to his room.

He did wait for Stark.

Sex didn't necessarily imply liking to talk to the other or spend tie with them, and considering that Stark's sex addiction was worse than he thought at the beginning, he was sure he would come. He was rather disappointed when time passed by and he didn't show up.

He turned off the lights and slipped under the covers.

In the morning, he wasn't in the mood neither for his usual tea. He just left his room to pick another book and retire again, but he found the man there as well.

"You could have warned me you wouldn't come. I don't like waiting." he pointed out, observing the books.

Tony stifles an eye roll. "I thought my storming out of the room and lack of appearances throughout the day would have been hint enough," he says unattached.

Don't get him wrong, Tony loved sex and angry sex was definitely in his top ten, but he was not in the right mind the night before.

"Maybe you should learn to wait. Us mortals spend the majority of our lives waiting on other people." This he says with snark.

He's still in a piss poor mood, probably resulting in a lack of sleep in combination with the fact that none of his testing the night prior went properly. Loki was just going to have to suffer with him.

"I am _not_ a Midgardian, and I will not wait for any of you. I already did once for you and it was enough. You are not as special as you think you are, you are not worth of wasting my time." He almost hissed as he picked his new book - whatever it was, he hadn't even read the title.

He glared hatefully at the man then, and made his way for the elevator for reaching the roof. Very well. One night of satisfaction, and who knew for how long he wouldn't have one again. And if that was not enough, Stark even thought he had any right to tell him to wait. Stupid, useless, man.

Tony has a smug smirk as he watches Loki leave.

Serves him right. Tony was as special as he wanted to be. No one ever argued against him, except for Pepper (who had every right) and Fury and his band of misfits (which didn't happen so often anymore). Probably because he could buy out pretty much their entire lives and make it a living hell.

After eating and all that fun jazz that came with being human he returned down to his lab once more. It was going to be another sleepless night. He could already feel it.

* * *

Loki didn't read once he reached the roof. He did nothing at all. He just sat on the edge with his legs hanging down from there as he looked at the city.

The book remained closed next to him.

It would be easy to end such a painful life and just jump, only to look up from hell and see if Stark would call himself guilty for that. Though, if he knew him as well as he thought he did, he would only think he was indeed special if a God commited suicide because of him.

So, he decided he would just remain there for as long as someone didn't drag him back inside. It was rather cold.

Loki had closed his eyes. The wind hitting his face was rather comfortable, he was losing sensibility to the muscles of his face and he even liked it, in some way.

The cold was not so bad. He didn't need warmth, less then ever Stark's.

* * *

Okay.

So he was weak.

He'd given up.

He wanted to wait and see if Loki would come back and beg for him and then he realized Loki was a god and likely to hold a grudge for all eternity. And Tony wasn't too fond of that. He also wasn't fond of giving up. But you win some, you lose some.

It took about thirty seconds for him to ask about the trickster's whereabouts, after hours of bickering with himself.

He takes the stairs to the roof. Partly because it would take him longer to reach it, but mainly because it was the only access.

"Fuck you," Tony grumbles as he walks outside. "Fuck you and your not-so-pathetic little, hot ass. If I apologize properly are really going to forgive me?" Sue him he still felt bad for all the shit he's disturbed. He was actually sorry.

"Why is my forgiveness so important? I am a prisoner, I am the enemy. You have no reason for wanting me to like you if not your ego."

Tony sighs, completely giving up. He walks the short distance and sit next to the god, dangling his own legs over the edge of the roof. It would be too easy for Loki to finish what he tried the first time they met at the tower. Tony shivers at the thought.

"Becuase," he says. And he doesn't know why but he doesn't pause before he says the next part. "I like you." Well, fuck. "I like your snark. And you're not a prisoner, not here. Not with me. You should be. But you're not." He doesn't look to Loki, still afraid that Loki would push him over the edge.

"Lies." Loki's reply came quick and natural. "You are being a liar and maybe you don't even realize it." he specified then, because he was willing to take into consideration that maybe Stark's intent was not to keep him there as a prisoner or behave with him as if he was. "Even if you let me go around the top three floors as I want, I am still forced to stay, I am still forced to behave, and I continuously am under someone else's observation. It's just a bigger cell and nothing more." He corrected him with a shrug, still looking at the skyline. "I might believe you like me, though. But if I liked you as well, I doubt your interest would hold. It's simply that I didn't fall at your feet as most of the people. If I did, you would forget who I am in a matter of moments, as you did with all the others."

The fact that Loki never even attempted to try to get to another floor was sort of shocking. Kind of spoke volumes about what kind of prisoner Loki was.

"Firstly, most of the tower is R&D, no one's allowed there without clearance with a very heavy background check. The rest of it, excluding these top four floors (the fourth floor being my lab), is just offices, and why would you want to go there?" Tony tilts his head.

"No one said you had to be have, I expected you not to to be honest. But you do have to stay the whole no leaving thing wasn't my rule. That was SHEILD and Pepper. And it's kind of hard to forget the guy that threw me out a window," he says as he stands. This didn't go the way he planned. And the sooner he got away from the edge of a tall building the sooner he'd breathe better.

"Stop it, Anthony. Restrictions are not gone. It's not you deciding if I am a prisoner or not, or what I can or can't do," he responded, for the first time turning to look at the man.

And he saw the fear. Not for being high, it would be ridiculous considering the man could fly in his suit. So, fear of what?

...Of him. Stark was afraid of him. Namely, the flight out of the window was the most important clue.

"Is that memory the reason why you are afraid of me? Do you think I will do it again?"

Tony's eyes widen like the answer was obvious.

"When you get angry like this, of course I do. I'm so scared that the moment I say something or do something, you're going to kill me." He shudders.

His fingers circle his own wrist, wishing he at least he his bracelets on. And this time when his chest tightens he knows its the start of a panic attack.

"You're just going to pluck me right off the ground and throw me out the window. And I can't-" he tries to slow his breathing and it works. For the moment. "If you're going to kill me I wish you would get it over with. So I don't have to worry about dying in my own home."

Loki looked back away. He didn't know why, but it hurt. Knowing that Stark still thought he was going to die if he stayed too close to him. He didn't expect full trust, but he had thought they were over it. Without even shifting a little, he pulled his legs to his chest and lay his chin on them.

"If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it anytime you were close enough. Anytime you touched me and I didn't really want it. I could have killed you in your sleep, yesterday. You gave me so many chances that if I wanted it, you would be dead already," he explains, closing his eyes once more. "Leave me alone."

Tony's more than perfectly fine with that. He doesn't say anything as he returns to the stairs with every intent on shouting to JARVIS the moment he knew the AI could hear him to get the jet ready, he was going to Malibu.

But as soon as the door shuts behind him, he falls against it and slides down into a position that mimicked Loki's. He's still trying to control his breathing although he was on the verge of hyperventilating. It should be calming enough to know the god didn't have any plans to kill him. But then again maybe that wasn't the cause of the panic attack to begin with.

Eventually he does calm his breathing down, but he doesn't move. He just stares at the grey wall in front of him, keeping his mind blank. He might have dozed off.


	13. Chapter 13

___A: Okay, so, basically um, well, **trigger warning: there is self-harm in this chapter.** It's towards the end, I'll mark it (** to About A Month Later) so you can skip it. It isn't really a constant theme but it does reappear a few times, but it's a trigger to myself, so it won't be at the forefront._

* * *

Eventually, when the night was about to fall again, Loki stood.

A step more, and everything would be over. And he seriously debates taking that final step.

Instead, for those kids he had and that were luckily still alive, he turned on his heels and left. But when he opened the door and found Stark there, he was tempted to turn and run back over the edge of the building.

The man was blocking his way back in as well. So, he leaned over and lay his hand on the man's shoulder, shaking him slightly.

Tony blinked awake, unaware he'd fallen asleep. Now that he was awake he could feel the pain in his joints from the awkward position.

"Oh," he breathes.

He looks at Loki for a moment. He wants his eyes to look cold, and emotionless, though they probably are just confused and sleep deprived. The mortal stands then. Keeping his back to the wall for a second before he turns away to walk down the stairs.

Loki stood again and looked away. The last thing he wanted now, was to see or to talk to him now.

Before returning downstairs, Loki waited for Tony to be gone. He doubted he was going to see him again any time soon, any way. Loki would most likely lock himself into his room and Stark into his workshop.

That was what Loki did. As soon as the echo of Stark's footsteps disappeared, he went back downstairs as well and went for his room, quietly closing the door behind him, then.

There was no redemption. He was a murderer, he was dangerous, and nothing could change that. The following day he could run into the fire for saving a kid from death, but still, everyone would think that he did it for some subtle purpose, that some illusion was going on, that he was pretending to be kind for another goal.

Stark did it too.

He even talked to him of Sigyn, and he still thought he was going to push him over the edge of the building.

Why did Odin even bother to keep him alive after Frigga's death? Why waste everybody's time like that with him, if he had no chances?

He just lay with his back against the door, enough to hear everything that happened outside his room to be sure he could keep everything under control, and even because, in that way, even if he fell asleep, he would understand if he had a visitor.

Eventually, Loki had fallen asleep.

* * *

When Tony reached his room, he fell to his bed. He didn't bother to undress, or even pull the covers down. He simply crawled so his whole body fit on the bed, which wasn't hard taking into account the massive size of the bed and the short size that was his height, and fell right back to sleep.

He didn't feel like getting up the next morning and just rolled over trying to go back to sleep but then the empty bed stared back at him and that only reminded him of the two nights that he fell asleep in Loki's arms and that wasn't happening so he turned over and tried again.

But then it was too cold so rather than climb under the blankets, he called out to JARVIS to turn the heat up. He was just in that kind of mood.

Eventually he just gave up and sat up and planned on watching the entirety of the _Lion King_ trilogy. That would waste four more hours.

Sometime around the midpoint of 1 1/2, Tony's stomach growled too loud for him to ignore it. Pausing the film, he gets up for the first time that day (it was just past noon) and sets about for the kitchen.

Somewhere in the back of the pantry, Tony finds the last bag of microwavable popcorn. He sheds the plastic and sticks it in the little appliance for the recommended amount of time. While he waits, he gets himself a glass of orange juice. Maybe he could find some champagne at the bar. Popcorn and mimosas are always the best breakfast...

Loki entered the kitchen then, looking for something, probably choclate, since he ddin't find what he wanted before he left once again.

Tony was grateful Loki hadn't said anything or even acknowledged he was there. He himself just stared at the paper bag steadily growing and spinning around in the microwave.

The popcorn was finished, brought back to the bedroom and promptly eaten as Tony finished his marathon. When the movies were over, he gets up for the day, in a much better mood than that morning, and showers.

It was never not going to be awkward in the shower alone. At least that one.

Actually, as long as his mind was free to roam, it was never not going to be awkward as long as he stayed in the Tower. Malibu was looking better and better all the time.

* * *

Loki had picked a bunch of books from the library instead of one before returning to the room. They would keep him busy for long, he hoped. Or at least for the whole night.

In the morning, when he had nothing to do again and he was walking back and forth in his room with the book scattered on the floor, he went to the bathroom and sat in the hot shower.

**It was only an absent thought, for a moment, after he had seen the razor, but then he picked it and rolled it around his fingers absently, opening a few little cuts on his fingertips here and there.

He was ready to die, he was a while ago. He was when he returned to Asgard, he was when he pushed Jane away knowing that Malekith's bomb would have hit him, and he was when Kurse almost killed him.

And yet he was still there.

He didn't cut his veins, though. He just needed some physical pain to distract him from his thoughts, and he opened a cut running almost all along his forearm, and watched the blood falling and being washed away by the water immediately. It didn't even hurt as much as he wished.

Loki was still in the shower, watching the blood dripping from the wound when he heard the knocking. Quickly coming out of the shower, he put on the robe and pushed the wet hair away from his face, before going to the door and opening slightly, enough only to show his face.

It was decidedly weird to see Stark after two days, and less then ever to see him ready for going out. Surely he wasn't warning Loki he was going to the store or anything else.

"...Yes?"

Tony wasn't expecting to see Loki dripping wet from a shower. So it took him aback. He blinks a few time before he answers.

"I'm leaving," he says. "For my place in Malibu, I mean. Probably won't be back until sometime next month. Just wanted to let you know you'll have the place to yourself." He shrugs. "So you didn't miss me or anything."

_Leaving_. No, that wasn't leaving, that was escaping. He was escaping from him, and he didn't even need to do anything else.

"Oh," he just answered, moving his wet hair back and behind his ear as he looked down for a moment. Not even his jailer could stand his presence. "Who will come, then? I doubt Fury would accept leaving me here alone," he asked instead.

For as long as it wasn't Barton or Banner, he guessed he could make it. He would only remain locked in his room for the whole time. He ate nothing but a piece of chocolate in... How long was it now? A week he was there? A little bit more, maybe? He could survive for a long time without being forced to meet anybody.

"Well, no one. I wasn't planning on telling anyone where I was going. And besides. I told you, you're not a prisoner. Not here." Tony silent for a moment, his thoughts making appearances on his face.

Alone. It sounded good. No one around, no one to control him, no one to argue with. In the end, it sounded good. Still, not that nice that Stark suddenly decided to leave

"You could join me?"

"No. You are escaping, Anthony, and I don't need to know you better than this to know you are escaping from me. You don't have to ask me to come just because you feel guilty for leaving me here alone, and less then ever I want your pity. Farewell," he rants and quietly closed the door again.

"I'm not escaping from you!" Tony shouts through the door. "I don't know if you've looked out a window recently, but it's raining cats and dogs out there and I don't like weather that isn't sunny!"

Loki tried to ignore the yells through the door. He knew he had seen right. Every season saw rain, he had never seen Stark wanting to escape, he never even mentioned wanting to move to Malibu until it stopped, and anyway, it was winter there as well. It might rain in California.

He just dropped the robe again and returned to the shower, that had been left on. The blood had dried on his arm, so he washed it away and instead opened another cut, shorter but deeper, closer to his elbow.

* * *

**About a month later**

Tony hadn't wanted to return to New York. Really he hadn't, because now it was _snowing_. And while that wasn't as depressing as rain, it was _cold_. Colder than should be allowed. But, of course, he had to return.

Because despite naming Pepper CEO, it was still his company and he liked to know what was going on. That, and there was that whole God as a house guest thing. Was it too asinine of him to say that he actually _missed_ Loki?

Malibu was only "fun" for about a week before he began longing for the god's company. Hell, even if they fought the whole time, he would have been happier.

Eventually, he realized Loki had been right in some way. He was escaping, and it wasn't just the rain. He was running from what he _felt_ for Loki. Hopefully, it was just some strange inversion of Stockholm Syndrome, laced with pity for his condition and understanding about dead beat dads.

Yeah, _that_ made sense.

Maybe Tony missed New York more than he let on. There was nothing quite like the city that never sleeps. He couldn't really help the smile that graced his face a he walked into the living room of his penthouse.

He walks to the couch to toss his bag on the leather furniture before he goes to the bar to pour himself a glass of some sort of amber liquid; a "Welcome Home" sort of drink. He sighs, the smile still on his lips, as he takes a sip.

* * *

More than once, during that time, Loki had thought he could escape.

No one was controlling him, he could just steal books, something from the house he could sell again and disappear.

But Heimdall had his eyes on him, and if he did anything, he would return to a cell in Asgard so quickly he would barely understand what was happening, and he didn't want to think what was it that Odin might do to him that time.

So, he just remained there, and... survived.

His arms were now covered in scars and cuts, but they didn't hurt anymore. He left the room's door open only for changing his hair, but he rarely left.

He ate every now and then, when he remembered to - once a week, more or less - and spent the rest of the time in bed, reading and sleeping. He had probably lost a lot of weight, but he couldn't care less.

He didn't even realize it when Stark returned, he was used to the silence and loneliness. It was like being in his cell all over again.

Loki absently walked out of his room, and headed to the kitchen for preparing himself some tea. He was still wet from his last hot bath with razor connected. He didn't even bother about the wet prints he left behind him, he just went straight to the kitchen and set to prepare his tea.

He didn't notice Stark, he didn't even turn around for checking on the place.

Maybe later he would go to the roof, he liked snow. For the moment, he only wanted some tea.

Tony padded into the kitchen, not meaning to be so quiet. He was glad the trickster had decided to come up and he didn't have to go in search of him.

"I'm back," he says quite loudly, drawing out the second word. "Did you miss me?" he joked well enough. "Cause any trouble while I was gone?"

Loki glanced out of the kitchen's door when he heard his voice and looked at him with a confused expression. So he actually returned. He would have never believed it.

"I will have to remember to close my bedroom's door again from now on." It was the best acknowledgment of Stark's presence there that he could give. He returned to his tea, then, and sat down at the table, sipping it.

Tony frowned, slightly worried. "Everything alright?"

He wasn't exactly expecting a warm welcome, complete with a shower of affection, but he wasn't expecting that. What did Tony care if his bedroom door was open or not? And the confused look kind of threw him off a bit.

"Right," he suddenly remembers, running his hand through his own hair.. "The whole not talking thing. Forgot that."

"Everythings alright," Loki responded quietly.

Actually, he was not even sure Stark was actually there. He thought, instead, that he was going insane and started seeing things. Those were the first words he said since Stark left, too.

"If you need something, just say it or stay silent. I'm not in the mood for your foolish words." He continued, quickly finishing his tea after.

"Alright, Crossroads. If you wanted me gone, all you had to do was say it," he replies skeptically, because he wasn't entirely sure Loki was alright.

He didn't want to outright say something, because after spend a month alone, he was looking forward to the god's company. And he'd much rather have the god happy.

"I guess that's my cue then," he says turning around and returning to the bar.

Loki snorted and looked up to Heaven. Yes, he had just started liking the loneliness. "Couldn't your plane crash somewhere?" he muttered, magicking back to his room the length of time necessary only for picking up the books he had there and bringing them back to the library. He had read everything that could be offered to him by that place.

"Why didn't you remain there? If you left for rain, I don't see why returning for snow." he pointed out then, just to underline that he still thought Stark escaped from him.

"Because," Tony says, his first thought was to lie and say something along the lines of priorities, but Tony's never had his priorities straight, and at this point in time, he might as well tell the truth. It was after all, quite pointless to lie to the God of Lies.

"Snow is fun. But also I missed you. And I might have run because of rain or because of you," he states remembering Loki's previous accusation, "but the bottom line here is I returned, because I missed you and real social interaction." He had after all spent the whole time with robots and AIs, and while Jay could talk, it wasn't the same as actual human contact, or Norse God. Whichever.

Loki rolled his eyes and looked through the books in hope to find one he hadn't read already, but apparently, he had read everything.

"I can decidedly see how it makes sense," he says sarcastically, picking one of Shakespeare's plays he had liked the most.

Of course, he didn't believe him. Not in the slightest. Running away from someone but returning because you miss then. It's pointless. He still thought it was because Stark felt guilty or because of pity.

He crosses his arms and leans against the wall. "You don't believe me." It's not a question because Tony can hear it in the sarcasm and see it in the way Loki held himself. "You're supposed to be able to tell if I'm lying right? Then how come you don't believe me?"

Tony didn't feel guilty or pity when it came to Loki. At least not after this month long sabbatical. In his opinion, Loki deserved what he got. But now that was all over. There wasn't any need for more punishment or to feel guilty over something that balanced the scales.

"No, I don't," he admitted easily, for the first time throwing him a glance that lasted for more than a second. "I don't really put much effort in trying to understand a man's which words usually are spoken more by alcohol than his mind. It's a loss of time."

Not a so subtle attack. He hadn't taken too well Stark's sudden return as much as he hadn't taken too well his sudden departure. He felt as if he wasn't worth a word, and now he said he missed him. Ah ah ah. No. No, he wouldn't believe it.

"Are you done wasting my time?"

Tony didn't want to get agitated, he was tired of it. Tired of the whole back and forth like a yo-yo. He was just tired. His vacation hadn't been much of a vacation, his thoughts were still flooded by the God despite not actually being in the tricksters presence.

"Yeah, fine, whatever," Tony finally says as he shrugs off the wall. Just because he was tired of it didn't mean it still didn't hurt. "Just, remember you're in _my_ library in _my_ apartment. Not the other way around. Sorry, if you think I'm deliberately trying to waste your time."

"I will repeat it again: I didn't ask to be here. You only irritate me by insisting on the same points over and over again."

Tony leaves the room, the door to his bedroom slamming harder than he wanted. _Fine_. He was running, escaping. But until Loki got off his fucking cycle and actually treated Tony like he wasn't some toy, he would continue to do so.

Loki closed his eyes and sighed. The man had returned five minutes ago, and he already wished he was still in Malibu.


	14. Chapter 14

Loki returned to his room, blocked his bedroom with a chair so it wouldn't fall shut yet, and then went to Stark's without even knocking.

He threw the key for the bedroom's door and the elevator at him. "Here, you stupid creature. Maybe now you will stop trying to use _that I am not a prisoner here_ against me again," he mocked, leaving the room there for returning to his own, removing the chair and slamming the door.

Well, now he was locked inside, as it probably should have been since the beginning. Not too bad. He shut himself into the bathroom and returned to the shower once more.

_What. The. Hell. Was. That?_ That was it. That was the only thing Tony could think about. He couldn't even remember what he was doing before the god had interrupted him with flying objects.

What did he throw anyway? Tony glanced down at the item on the floor by his feet. Keys. He threw his keys. Why?

And then it finally registered with him what Loki had said.

Well, _fuck_.

He snatched the keys from the floor and dashed to the elevator moving faster than he had in a while.

He didn't even bother knocking on the door, just used the key to get in, he was that... _emotional_. He was angry and worried and hurt all at once. He walked straight to the only sound in the flat; the shower.

"What the hell was that about?" he growls as he storms into the bathroom.

As soon as he heard footsteps in, Loki immediately closed the shower's curtain. The last thing he wanted now, was to be lectured from that man about the scars and cuts on his arms.

"You heard it very well." he said as he picked the bottle of shampoo and poured some on his head for washing it. "Isn't there a way to get rid of you? It was so peaceful while you were away."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but you're stuck with me for the foreseeable future," he responds. He picks himself up and sits on the counter top. "What's going on with you? And don't tell me it's nothing, because there's very obviously something wrong. So tell me."

He knows Loki won't tell him. At least, not without a lot of coaxing, hopefully. He wasn't about to ignore the fact that he had a god who petulantly locked himself in his room, because Tony screwed up. He wanted to fix whatever it was. Even if they went back to just insulting each other the whole time.

"There is nothing, believe it or not, and even if there was, surely I would not talk to you!" he snapped, and he started washing his hair hard enough to actually hurt his own scalp without realizing it, and just then he forced himself to stop. Never be rageful while washing, it gave him a hell of headache.

"Will you leave me alone on your own, or will I have to drag your dead body out myself?!" he threatened, remembering very well how Stark still seemed to be scared Loki might kill him in any moment. And then the man expected him to believe he missed him. Sure.

"You'll have to drag me out yourself," he replies, finding that half hope that Loki was telling the truth when he said he wasn't going to kill him. "Loki," Tony says softly, despite the other's anger at him. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I did, or what I said, but I know it was _something_. Something I said up on the roof or did or whatever, and now you're just angry all the time. You don't even smile anymore. I am sorry."

Loki growled at the reply. When did the man become so confident Loki wouldn't hurt him? Some sort of psychological torture would work anyway. Making his mouth disappear, so that he couldn't speak nor drink anymore? Forcing his mind to live over and over again the events of New York? Anything might be good enough, even without taking the man's life.

"Smile?" He growled again. "You say you like me and yet you think I might kill you, you say you missed me when you escaped from me, and you keep throwing back at me that with you I'm not a prisoner, when you fail to see how this is not even true even just for the fact that you do throw it back, and you keep trying walking through barriers you know you can't fight, making me speak with you of my wife and life! What else then? Trying to turn me into some domesticated dog, laying down next to you when you want to watch some stupid movies! Do you expect me to be grateful, do you expect me to follow your lead, do you expect me to smile? Really?" he yelled across the shower box, not caring anymore about keeping some sort of composure.

"Fuck you, Loki. Honestly. Fuck you. I try to be nice, try to be truthful, you just continuously push me away. Yeah, I ran. Because that's what I fucking do at first sign of emotion towards anyone other than hate. I run." Tony's hands clench at his sides. "I only asked. I never forced you to tell me anything. You didn't have to say anything. You could've just left. And you know what? You should. Finish your fucking shower and then get the hell out of my tower. If I see you again I won't hesitate to call the Avengers."

"I can't leave and you know it!" he yelled, opening the shower box to look at him this time. He gave a glare of hatred before going to pick the robe again and put it on, pushing Stark out of the door, back into the bedroom. "I don't want to be dragged in chains back to Asgard to be put at Odin's mercy. I gave you back the keys, I will remain here, out of your way! What do you want more?!"

Tony stumbles back when Loki shoves at him. "I don't want you to be dragged back to Asgard either! And I don't want you to trap yourself down here. That'll only make me no better than Odin. I want to know what the hell is going on with you! What happened to make you suddenly become a hermit?!"

"_You_ happened! You and your nice words and nice behavior!" He said, turning to look at him. All that yelling gave him a heavy breath, but it didn't stop him from looking at him with hate burning in his eyes. "Affection is _never_ for free. Odin wanted to use me, Thor needed my help, Sigyn stayed for the kids, and she left as soon as they died! So, I'm wondering, Tony Stark..." he started again, approaching to him. "What do you want from me?"

It all registered with Tony. Every single word. Odin, Thor, Sigyn, kids. It all hit home. But they only thing he concerned himself way the last question. What did Tony want? What could Loki possibly give him? He didn't know. Actually, that's not true. The answer was simple.

"You," he's says honestly. "I want you. And I don't even know why, but I do."

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" he yelled again, pushing him again. They were always only lies. The only one that gave him love without asking anything back was Frigga. All the others... they were all the same. Nothing ever changed. "What do you want?!"

"I'M NOT LYING!" This time when Loki shoved him, he grabbed Loki's wrists to keep him close. "I want you to believe me. I want you to forget what's happened in the past and I want you to look at me. And I want you to see that I'm not lying."

Loki did look at him, though without trying to see anything. Staying at distance, he had to keep his own heart cold and away from anyone's grip. That was the only way he could save himself from being hurt and disappointed once more.

"Let me go," he only said, trying to remain quiet as he spoke.

"Fine. Fine," he replies letting Loki's wrists go. "Don't believe me." But it wasn't fine. Because it hurt that Loki didn't believe. It hurt a lot. "Sorry I care."

Tony, unable to hide the pain anymore, hangs his head and turns to leave. If Loki wanted to stay locked in his room, then so be it.

Before Stark could leave, Loki gripped his wrist and pulled him back in. "What is it? Do you think that I will feel guilty if you play the part of victim?! If you show big painful eyes? You are a liar, as anybody else. Nothing comes for free. There is something that you want from me, and I will discover what it is." He insisted, looking right into the man's eyes. "I fail to see how you think I can trust you."

Tony wrenched his wrist from Loki's grasp. "I'm _not_ a victim. I'm not _playing_ the victim. I don't even know why I came down here. I don't know why I do anything anymore. You're not going to believe anything I say. I'm sorry so many people have hurt you in the past. I wanted to be the one person that didn't want to hurt you. If you won't have me fine. You don't have to be a dick about it."

Loki once more removed his still wet hair from his face. He kept his eyes still on Stark, studying him with attention.

He was lying. He had to be lying. Everybody lied when it came to this. Even more now. He was a murderer, he was dangerous, Stark himself admitted he was afraid of him. He had to be lying.

"Why should I trust you?"

Tony shrugged. "I don't have a good answer for that." He wanted to be as honest as possible here. And little half lies wouldn't help here. "But if you want a reason, because I haven't lied to you. Except about calling the Avengers thing. I probably wouldn't have done that."

"You would have." he responded instead. "Because I could push you down off the roof, couldn't I? You have to pay attention because if you piss me off too much I could kill you." He threw back at him, approaching again. "Stop pretending everything is love and sunshine for you. You don't trust me. You would have called them."

"You're right. I don't trust you. But you don't trust me either," he points out. "And not everything is love and sunshine. You _could_ kill me. You told me you wouldn't, or rather that you already would have if you were going to. If you go back on your word, I'll haunt your ass in the afterlife."

"I don't, and I never hid it. I don't go around calming I like you or that I missed you." He responded easily, going to sit on the bed then, crossing both his arms and his legs.

He sighs. "Let's just... Not. You've already told me you don't like me back. And I'm okay with that. I think. Believe me or not, it's your choice. But I'm tired, and I don't want to fight anymore."

"Oh, sure. Let's _not_. Let's keep on escaping from problems." He mocked him with a careless shrug. "Do you really want me to leave? Don't think of Asgard or Odin, I can hide myself. Answer honestly."

He rolls his eyes at the trickster's mockery. "I'm here aren't I? I just don't want to fight anymore." He sighs. "Of course not. Not thinking of Asgard or Odin. No I don't want you to leave."

Loki stared at him, trying to find the crack in his facade.

"Are we able to do anything besides fighting?" he asked after a moment, sighing and laying down on the bed, his hands crossed upon his stomach while he stared at the roof.

It was better this way, after all. If they fought, then Loki would never grow fond of Stark, and if the mortal truly cared for him on some level, it would pass. Fighting was better. It had to be.

"Sometimes," he says thinking back to the few times they ended up in a bed together. "Sometimes we have really domestic times." He smiles softly. "But for the most part we're at each other's throats. And not in a good way."

"Domestic _arguments_," he corrected, giving him a quick glance.

He turned on the bed and gave his back to Stark. He held his injured arms to his chest and closed his eyes, sighing.

Nothing would be alright, anyway. Nothing was ever alright with him. He didn't have trust in anyone after discovering his true origins. With Stark, it was not different. He couldn't trust him. He was the enemy, after all.

"Touché." Tony sighs, dropping the keys on the god's dresser. "Don't stay down here forever. Visit those of us in the land of the living sometime."

He turns around to leave. But spins back around almost as fast.

"Oh, before I forget. I brought you back some chocolate. There was a little place I passed that just made me think of you. So I don't want you starving yourself either."

When he heard the sound of the keys being dropped, Loki turned, leaned over for picking them, and threw them back at Stark.

"You will use it against me again if I keep them," he quickly explained, and then slipped under the blankets. "I will eat if and when I'm hungry. You can eat the chocolate, I never asked for it."

Loki's sleeve had been bunched up allowing Tony to see the scars adorning his arm as he reached for the keys. _Were they always there? Or were they new?_ He doesn't say anything, thinking it was beneath Loki to self-harm, and not wanting to cause another argument.

"I don't like chocolate. Not enough to eat it straight."

He bends down to pick up the keys once more.

"I'm not going to treat you like a fucking prisoner. If you take the goddamn keys, I'll try my damnedest to not say _anything_ to you. Cause you sure as hell don't want me saying shit anyway."

He tosses the keys back at Loki and slips out the door before they could be thrown back at him.

"Everything you say is shit." He responded coldly, turning just in time to catch the keys before they could hit him and for seeing Stark leaving.

Sighing, he stood, opened the door, and aimed right at the man's head when he threw them back at him.

"Stop it, okay? Stop being friendly, stop doing _anything_ for me, stop caring, if you truly do it. _Stop_ it." He growled. "Throw the damn chocolate away, take the damn keys and _ignore my existence._"

Tony ignored it all, just continued on his death march to the stairs. If that's how Loki wanted to be then fine. Screw him.

He could go fuck himself while he wallowed in the pool of self-pity for all he cared at the moment. Tony had a one-way ticket to "IDon'tGiveAShitVille" and he was campaigning for mayor.

This is why he hid behind a bastard's personality, heavy sarcasm, and witty remarks.

Loki looked at the man while he walked away with an angry expression. Stark was... _ignoring him_.

"Hey, I am talking to you!" he called as he followed after him. He could stark ignoring him after the discussion was closed, at least.

...No, no. It had to be Loki closing the discussion, and slamming the door on the man's face. Not like this.

"Stark!"


	15. Chapter 15

Tony continued walking, wrenching the door open and heading towards the roof.

He wasn't dressed appropriately for the snow that was building up there. But also didn't care.

New York City was gorgeous in the snow. And he picked this spot to build his tower because it was a stunning view. And the roof had the best part.

It was cold, of course, Tony knew it was cold, it was snowing, but he'd left his heavier coat down stairs.

As he steps out onto the top of the building, the snow crunching beautifully beneath his feet, he realizes he should have got that first. And his gloves.

Loki followed Tony up, still wearing nothing but his robe, and he literally walked with bare feet in the snow. The benefits of being a Frost Giant.

"Stark!" he called again, picking up the pace for reaching him and stand in front of him. "Did you even listen to me?"

Tony blinked like he just realized the voice talking to him actually existed and wasn't just a figment of his imagination. He tilts his head in confusion.

"I thought you wanted to ignore your existence?" He crosses his arms. "So which is it? Am I listening or ignoring?"

"A sign of acknowledgment would have been appreciated!" He snapped, looking at him with a rueful expression. "In this way, it was only disrespectful." he stated then, clenching his fist.

But then, he turned around, snorting, and returned sitting on the edge of roof. At the contact with the snow, his skin adjusted to the temperature, and he decided that turning into a Jötunn would protect him better. He took some of the snow in his hands and just looked at it with his red eyes, doing nothing more than this.

"I was told to ignore your existence, if you don't recall," Tony snaps. "You threw your keys and hit me in the back of the head. And yelled at me to ignore your existence. I'm pretty sure I can have JARVIS play it back for you if you just developed a case of short term memory loss."

Now he can't even stand on his own roof without being patronized. Wasn't that just peachy?

Loki turned and threw the snow right on his face. He guessed Tony was lucky he didn't have something heavier in his hands.

"_You_ have problems. I said to give a sign of acknowledgment. Saying 'okay' and then leave, it would have been different. In this way, _it was disrespectful,_" he repeated. "You mightn't have listened at all."

He wanted to laugh it all off. He wanted to just give in and agree. He wanted to pick up a handful of snow, pat it into a perfect sphere and throw it at Loki and start a snowball fight reminiscent of winters spent before Maria Stark had died. He wanted to do a lot of things in that moment.

But Tony didn't do any of it.

He only let the word "Okay" escape his lips harshly, and left. He'd play in the snow some other time. Whenever he didn't have to deal with the finicky trickster god.

He knew this time Stark would do as he was told. He would ignore him, he would totally let him be 24/7. And it hurt. Why did it hurt? It was him asking, he should be glad Stark was letting him be. It shouldn't hurt.

"Stark," he called him, but when the man didn't stop, Loki threw another snowball at him.

"Tony!" he called as he stood again, though without following him this time.

Tony paused when the snowball hit him. His hands clenched and unclenched at his side a few times. He brings one of them up to his face and wiped at it before plunging his hand into his hair, tugging at it.

What did he want now? Has Tony not done everything asked of him? He turns back then.

"What?" he asks less than polite.

He was tired of this charade. He just wanted a date with his good friend Johnnie Walker and a nice dreamless sleep in which not even his AI could wake him from. Was the too much to ask?

Stark was cold with him. Loki couldn't blame him, and he suddenly felt bad for how he behaved with him. Maybe he had exaggerated. _Maybe_. He looked down in shame - both for what he had done and what he was about to say. He was not one who apologized often. He was still a Prince, after all.

"I'm sorry," he said, sitting back down then and looking at the currently white city beneath.

"No," Tony said without much thought. "No. _No_. **No**. You're not allowed to do this. You can't just treat me like shit for days and then apologize after I basically tried to beg for your forgiveness. _No_. That's not allowed."

He turns around once more stomps inside. But just inside, he stopped. And much like he'd had done the previous month, he put his back to the wall and sank down. His knees were pulled to his chest and he wraps his arms around them hugging them tightly. Tears threaten to fall from his pained brown eyes as he presses his forehead to his knees.

Tony sat there curled as he was, silent sobs wracking his body. He'd given in. It hadn't even hurt this much when Pepper had left him.

All Loki did was _apologize_. For what? He didn't care. Why should he? If Loki didn't care then he shouldn't either.

Eventually, he managed to pick himself up, ashamed he had allowed someone so trivial to bring him down so low. He returned to his flat, heading for his bedroom, ignoring the bar that seemed to be echoing his name. It wouldn't work for him to be drunk now. He laid in bed staring at the empty space across from him, not saying anything, not thinking, just allowing fatigue to take over him and pull him into a dark place. And he slept.

* * *

Loki, instead, remained up there. He couldn't have expected it to do anything. He really didn't know what else to do though, and Stark rejected so quickly his apologies that he knew even less of something he could do. He just pulled his legs to his chest and cupped some of the snow falling in his hand. The snowflakes immediately turned into ice as soon as they touched his skin.

He observed them for a few moments, and then let them fall down. He lay down on the rooftop, then, his eyes closed as his whole body sunk into the snow.

Going back down and risking to meet Tony, to face rejection and humiliation once again... No, no. He couldn't make it.

He could stay there until spring returned. Until all the snow had melted, and hopefully he had melted with it. It had been incredibly embarrassing for him apologizing.

It was... admitting a mistake. Which Loki rarely did. Only once, with Sigyn, and he could not really avoid it. Their kids died because of him, he could not really deny it was his fault.

Eventually, though, he returned downstairs, finding the common rooms empty... And finding the chocolate.

Sighing, he took the bag, opened the chocolate, and started eating until it was finished.

* * *

Tony didn't leave his room the next day. Or the day after. Or the day after that. In fact, to be more specific, he didn't even leave from his bed. The only times were to use the bathroom and to shower.

The prospect of running into Loki, into more heartbreak had only made him hurt worse and bunker down further into his sheets.

It was wasn't until JARVIS practically yelled at him to get his sorry ass up and eat something, did he venture out of his room three days after his return from Malibu.

Loki had returned to the 'walk around, try to find something to do' life he used to do while Stark was away. It was like he was gone again, and he didn't know if it was because he was in his workshop, if he had left again, or if he was in his bedroom.

There was nothing to do, he just walked around, read something here and there, and then returned to his bedroom. He could say he had mostly eaten only chocolate since he arrived on Midgard.

He was sitting at the kitchen's table with a glass of milk when Stark re-appeared after... he didn't even know how many days. But he just looked at him, holding his glass.

He had asked Stark to ignore him, and he wouldn't blame him if it was exactly what he was going to do. But still, he looked at him.

Tony spotted him, immediately, and he stopped, frozen. He wanted to say something, _anything_, but he couldn't and let his mouth flounder open for a moment before he snapped it shut.

His eyes turn to look at the refrigerator and he finally manages to move again. There's nothing really in it to eat. He'd been gone for a month, so he didn't expect anything. But he did find an apple that seemed to be okay.

He took the cold fruit into his hand and shut the fridge.

Tony looks back to Loki once more, certain he was going to say something, _anything_, but the words die in his throat and he just pads back to his room shutting the door softly behind him.

Loki continued staring at him with his big eyes even when Tony stared back. He was almost afraid of what he could say, because all the while he had been looking like if he was on the point of talking, and instead never said anything and left in silence.

As soon as Stark had left the room, he closed his eyes and sighed.

No, this was much worse than his situation in Asgard. He never had any kind of relationship with the guards surrounding him, if they ignored him it wasn't a big deal. In this way, it was different.

Sighing, he stood from the chair and approached to Tony's door. He did a trick that always made him smile when he was sad, as a kid. It was the first one he learned from Frigga.

Tony had just taken a bite of his apple when the bunny had appeared. He was confused at first. But then the ethereal frown on his face slowly tilted up into a smile.

The little bunny of air started jumping around Tony's room, without really touching now breaking anything, it was just an illusion. And it stopped on the bed, looking at Tony, before it vanished.

He sort of felt like a kid at Hogwarts. His house guest was magic. He wasn't a wizard, but still.

Loki, instead, walked back to his bedroom with his glass of milk and quietly shut the door behind him.

It took Tony three more hours before he could bring himself to leave the room again. And another hour to bring himself to take the short ride on the elevator down. And another ten minutes to knock on the door of Loki's room.

Loki had spent his time reading, reordering his room, creating some more clothes for himself to put in the wardrobe - all of them with green, black, leather or gold in them - and he lay down once more in his bed.

He wasn't sleeping, nor he was tired, but it was not like he had something better to do.

He was surprised to find Tony at the door - not that it could be anyone else, but he could have just imagined it. He thought he would not give him much consideration anymore, less then ever that he would come knocking to his door.

"...Yes?"

Tony stared at Loki for a moment, not expecting the god to answer.

"I'm not here to apologize and I'm not here forgive you. I just want to talk. I want our relationship back. I'd rather fight all the time then not talk at all." He drops his head, ashamed he'd acted so childishly. "I can't handle the lack of association," he says looking up from beneath his lashes.

_Talk_. Exactly what Loki would prefer to avoid. Talk, meet... It was a weird situation in which he was sad when he was being ignored, and almost afraid when he was not. Exactly something he would never want to live.

"Relationship?" he asked, skeptical, but shook his head, then, deciding to ignore that part. "What is it that you want to talk about?"

"It wasn't a sexual," he answers immediately, "or even platonic, relationship, and even if we hated each other, it was still a relationship." Tony shrugs. "I don't know. I just want to talk. I can't do silence anymore." He frowns, nips at his own lips and sighs. "I'll understand if you don't want to. Or want me to leave."

Loki shrugged and looked away, moving his long hair behind his ears.

"I have nothing to say," he said, leaning against the door with his arms crossed to his chest. Tell him what he did while he was away? He did nothing. Tell him why he apologized? He barely knew himself.

Well, this was great. Loki didn't have anything to say, not that he expected him to. And Tony didn't remember what he wanted to say. So that left him standing there twiddling his thumbs, afraid that if he walked away they might not ever speak again. Improbable, not impossible.

"um... That Patronus thing you did..." His lips tilt into a smile. "It was kinda cute."

"That... what?"

Tony smirks. He realized Loki wouldn't have understood, but it was the best way he could think to describe it.

"Harry Potter reference." He waves his hand as if to push the matter away. "But the little rabbit you made run around my room. It was cute. I liked it."

Recognition flashes on Loki's face.

"Oh, well... That was just an illusion. A trick I learned when I was a kid."

He'd thought as much. If it hadn't actually happened he would have thought of Loki as one for childish things like that. But it was a nice thought, to find the God had shared a small part of his childhood. Even if it was just a bunny. Tony frowned slightly.

"Why... Erm. Why did you do it? Show me the rabbit? I thought..." But he doesn't finish.

Loki raised his eyebrow when Stark stopped himself from talking.

"What did you think?" he asked as he crossed his arms to his chest for a more comfortable position. "It usually puts me in a good mood, and I thought it might work with you as well. Nothing else," he explained with a careless shrug, leaning against the door frame.

"I thought you didn't care." Tony shrugs shifting his weight. "You were pretty adamant about that." He smiles again, softly this time. "It did actually. Work on me. I smiled." He pursed his lips for a second. "Thank you, for that, I mean."

Loki didn't answer to that. He wasn't supposed to care indeed. He gave a light smile as well, though, when Tony admitted he had smiled with the little rabbit.

Closing his hands, he directed there some energy to create another illusion with air. Opening them again, he blew on them, and this time a kitten came out, jumping out of Loki's hands for sitting on Tony's shoulder.

"These tricks usually work only for amusing children."

Tony giggles, actually giggles. It's been an emotional time for him. At the mention of children he remembers Loki yelling at him why Sigyn left. He won't say anything, although he's curious. He's already made that mistake.

"They're adorable," he says as he watches the kitten. "Of course they work on children. Maybe an adult or two, if you catch them at the right time."

"No, they never work on adults." He shook his head as he watched the fake kitten mew and then vanish.

"It's only a mental stage. Captain Rogers is an adult, Agent Romanoff is an adult. You, for example, are not. Most of the time, at least. It's all about who you think children are. Not always are they the youngest."

Just as Tony was going to complain that he was an adult and they worked on him, he heard the comment. "Oh. Gee. Thanks," he says with heavy sarcasm though he still smiled.

"You're welcome," Loki said, not really paying attention to the fact that Stork might have been joking on that or not. Once more, Loki blew the energy from his hands, and there was an elegant wolf sitting on the ground, moving his gaze from Loki to Tony.

"This is how Fenrir looked the last time I saw him."

Partly because he paid attention to Thor's fact or fiction conversation with Clint over Norse myths and partly because he was just thinking about Loki's children he asked, "Your son, right?" as he took in the stunning illusion.

Loki just watched Fenrir's figure disappearing in the air.

"One of them. I have had six," he explained then. "Of course, he is not a wolf in his natural form. He is a shape-shifter."

Tony shook his head and smiled. "Like you?" he asks with a softer grin.

It was more of an observation than an actual question. He should probably stop. The last time he pried about family, it ended with a sad Loki and then things just spiraled from there.

"Like me," he confirmed, the ghost of a smile appearing to his lips as well. He missed his kids. All of them, even those he couldn't see anymore... Or those that were no more. His thoughts were taken away once more when Stark spoke

"I've said my piece so, I'll leave you be now. It was nice to be civil for once."

"You can ask, if you want. I won't talk of my marriage, nor of two of my kids. I should have no problems with all the rest." Because yes, he had liked to be civil as well, for once. It had been nice, talking without yelling or threatening.

Tony smiled. "Thanks." And he was thankful for the opportunity. "But I'd rather not push my luck today." He pulled up one side of his mouth as an unconfident gesture. "I'll see you around Loki."

A hand is raised partly, in effort to clap his hand on Loki's arm in a farewell he'd give anyone but thought better of it and let it fall back to his side.

No trust. Well, of course. He wouldn't trust himself either in Stark's position. He wouldn't trust anyone at all. What to do, then, to have things becoming again what they used to be? He would have to give Stark a reason to trust him.


	16. Chapter 16

"It was my fault Vali and Nari were killed," Loki says later that evening as he steps off the elevator. "That is why Sigyn left."

"I'm sorry." Tony, who was walking from the bar towards his room, frowned and shook his head. "But you don't have to tell me. Seriously, Loki. It's not any of my business."

His eyes are sad at the thought though. He didn't know how it felt, but imagined it a terrible pain.

"But I chose to tell you," Loki responded, walking to sit on the couch, pulling his legs up upon it as well. He patted the place next to him with his hand to invite Stark to stay. "It's different if I tell you on my own free will then you asking."

Following the trickster to the couch, he sits where he's told. His legs cross at his ankles and he turns his head to look over at Loki. And then because it was bugging him, he asks a question of one simple word.

"Why?"

It wasn't why it was different. It was why he chose to tell him. He was very confused at Loki's sudden change of heart, though he didn't say anything.

As soon as Stark sat down next to him, Loki wrapped his arms around one of Stark's and sighed, laying his head on the mortal's shoulder.

"I'm cold. I know I am, I have always been. But after... that, everything changed. If I grow fond of someone, or someone grows fond of me, something happens, they die, they get hurt, or I do. That is why I push everyone away. It's a protection. You had the right to know why I behaved like that."

Stunned at Loki's movements, Tony doesn't move for a long while. Long enough to listen to the reasoning and to stay silent for a moment after. And then Tony laid his head on the God's and closes his eyes briefly.

"Thank-you," he says, "for telling me." He turns his face into Loki's hair and takes a deep breath before he lifts his head up again. "How much did Barton tell you about me? When you had him under mind control?"

He shrugged, closing his eyes as well. "He told me what was in SHIELD's files and what he heard around." He responded, glancing up at the man.

He had discovered quite a lot. That he didn't get along too well with his father, that his parents died, the company, the Russian, his friend that betrayed him... SHIELD had a lot in their files.

"Why?"

Tony lifts his shoulder that Loki's head wasn't on. "I feel like I should share something personal now, and it'd be pointless to tell you something you already know."

"You don't have to," He responded immediately, shaking his head slightly. He didn't speak for having something back, that was not the purpose of his actions.

He looks down to Loki, meeting his green eyes. There was one thing he knew wasn't in any file, because he never told anyone. Not even Pepper knew of Yinsen's sacrifice.

"He told you about Afghanistan, yeah? About how I was kidnapped and held in a cave for months."

"Yes, I know of that." He nodded, closing his eyes. "You don't have to tell me anything, Anthony," he insisted then, holding his arm a little tighter.

"But I want to," he responds. "I owe you as much."

"You owe me nothing." He insisted.

Tony sighs and remains silent for a moment.

"There was a man," he finally starts, "Yinsen, trapped in the cave with me. He saved me." His head shakes slightly. "He, uh, helped me make this," he says tapping on his arc reactor. "Or rather, the first one. Keeps the shrapnel from entering my heart. Helped me with my first suit too. We were supposed to escape together but the software wasn't loading as fast as I calculated. He tried to buy me time, and by the time I saw him again, he was almost dead. He sacrificed himself to save the man whose weapons killed his family."

Tony didn't realize he was crying until he rubbed at his eye and it came away wet.

"There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about what he did for me."

Only when Tony had finished speaking did Loki look back up at him and saw the tears. He caught one with his fingertips, and without even thinking about it, he tasted it. Salty.

"Are you okay?"

Tony wiped his tears away and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just," he lets out a half-chuckle-half-sob sort of sigh and nods once more, "I've never told anyone that before."

He looks out to the window, where it had started to snow again. It was a different kind of snow than before. This time it was a happier snow, but the sky was gray.

Why him? Why Loki? There surely were much more important people in Tony's life, why tell something so important to him?

But the God remained silent and just looked at him, leaning just a little bit closer to him without even realizing it. He might kiss him. Yes, he might. Maybe he even wanted to.

And Stark was so deep into his thought that he didn't even seem to realize how close Loki was now - Loki didn't realize it either. But when he spoke again, he pulled away immediately, returning to his previous position.

"I want to build a snowman."

"A snowman? And you complained I call you a child," he teased, shaking his head slightly.

Tony chuckles and looks over at the trickster.

"Yeah, yeah. But come on! It's a man made of snow, how can you not love that?"

Okay, yeah he was a child and maybe a little crazy. But he was pretty sure no one cared. He surely didn't.

"Come on, Lokes," he says, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "Build a snowman with me?"

"I am 1048 years old, Anthony. I won't build a snowman," he responded, looking at him as if he was indeed talking to a kid. That was how Stark was behaving right now, "I can keep you company, but I won't take part of this," he proposed, letting go of the man's arm and standing.

Tony rolled his eyes, missing Loki's touch the moment he let go. He wouldn't say anything of it.

"Nah. I'd have to got get changed and it's really not that much fun when you have to do all the work yourself." He smirks and stands as well. "Besides, I might be tempted to start a snowball fight and that might not be a good idea."

"You won't make me feel guilty enough to give up and actually build it," he warned him but with an amused smile lingering on his lips, while making his way to the kitchen for some tea. "A snowball fight against a Frost Giant? Decidedly a bad idea." he chuckled as he stepped on to the elevator.

Tony laughed as he followed the god, intent on making himself a cup of coffee... When was the last time he'd had any caffeine?

"Oh, yeah, didn't think it was. Plus you have really good aim." He rubs at the back of his head where he remembered the keys hitting him days before. "I'd be done for before it even started."

He fills the carafe at the sink once they reached the kitchen before he pours the water in the back of the coffee maker.

"Of course I do. I was trained for wars during my youth. If I had bad aim, I would have died centuries ago." He shrugged.

One of the few good things that happened to him in Asgard. Being trained, going with Thor in battle. It allowed him to survive through many things.

Laying his finger on the coffee maker, he turned the water into ice with a grin upon his lips.

Tony frowned. "That's not nice," he says petulantly. "Don't break my stuff. I'm pretty sure coffeemakers aren't supposed to be frozen." He crosses his arms and faces away from the small appliance, leaning back against the counter.

"Oh, it's not broken." He complained, pouring his own hot water in the mug along with the teabag. "And you would have no chances, beating me I mean."

"Well, I would hope you'd take it easy on me, but easy isn't in your nature is it?" he asks playfully a smile returning to his face.

Tea was almost finished too. While waiting for his tea to be ready, he leaned against the counter beside Tony - more against the man than the counter, and grinned.

"It's not. If you challenge me, I will do my best to humiliate you." he warned him, his cold fingertips tracing the line of the mortal's neck.

He shivers at the cool touch. His own hand raises to captures it, twisting so his fingers weaved through the God's.

"Unfreeze it so I can have my coffee," Tony complains, shifting his weight so most of it was on the leg closest to Loki. "It's not easy to humiliate me."

"Nope." he responded with a wicked smile. He was completely leaning again the man, now, so that after he picked his mug, he could throw away the teabag. Why move away, when he could lean on such a warm and lean figure?

"I didn't exactly have boundaries as a kid. I'm sure you could find plenty of humiliating and embarrassing things on me." He squeezes the cold hand and lets it go so he can reach for his own mug.

"Do I have to remind you that you were challenging me to a snowball fight? I would humiliate you."

Tony sets his mug in the counter by the still frozen coffee pot and sighs.

"Do I have remind you that I asked you to build a snowman but then thought better of it because I'd probably start a fight that I'd lose?" And just because he could, Loki was leaning heavily on him anyway, he wraps an arm around him and tugs him close so the god's fully pressed against his side. "I don't think it counts a humiliating if I know I'm going to fail anyway."

"But it did sound as a challenge anyway."

Loki made himself more comfortable, and just wrapped his free arm around the man's shoulders while one of his legs made its way between Stark's. He still looked right at him while absently sipping his tea.

Tony smirks. "Yeah, it might have been had I gone through with it." Small circles are drawn on Loki's back by Tony's thumb. He puts his nose to Loki's neck, careful not to spill the hot liquid. "You still have to fix my coffee maker."

"What if I don't?"

Loki blindly looked for the counter to set down his cup again, so that both his arms could be wrapped around the man. He tilted his head slightly to allow Stark more access to his neck if he wanted to reach it.

"If I don't, you will have to find another way for warming up," he murmured with the smile returning to his lips as he spoke.

"Well," Tony hums as he nuzzles closer. "Is that an offer?" he wonders.

The tip of his nose is a feather-light touch trailing up the side of Loki's neck and across his jaw line.

"Because I am more than happy to take you up if it is."

Loki hummed softly when Tony started leaving those kisses, his hands moving to lazily caress the man's hair. How did they even go from not talking at all to this?

"It's all about what is it that you think I am offering," he whispered, though not really moving away as if to say Tony was wrong. Instead, he pressed his own body harder against Tony's.

Tony smirks as he lets out a heavy breath.

"I certainly hope it's what I'm thinking." Otherwise they were right back to square one.

He lifts his head to look into Loki's eyes. A second later he leans forward and presses a soft kiss to Loki's lips. It was gentle, almost like that first kiss everyone wants to have. It was Tony's way of asking if Loki wanted this, wanted to continue down this path. Words only ever seemed to get him in trouble. It only lasts for a few seconds before Tony pulls away and hide his blush in Loki's neck.

Loki looked at him for a moment before he hid away and out of sight. Pulling slightly away to cup his face, he gently forced him into looking up again, and pulled him into another kiss.

Tony did not expect that.

Actually, he didn't expect any of this. They hadn't been talking hours ago...

But now that it was happening, he didn't want it to stop. He was perfectly content just to stay and kiss Loki, if that's all this entailed. Of course, he didn't want it to and for that reason, he switched their positions.

Loki nibbled gently on the man's lips, pulling away then only for the time necessary for him to sit on the counter. He spread his legs and pulled Tony between them, his arm returning around the billionaire's neck. He didn't kiss him, though. He just looked at him with a light smile still lingering on his lips.

Tony smiled back. His hands rested on the tops of Loki's thighs. His head tilted up so he could actually see his face. God, he was tall. He slides his hands so they'd meet at the small of Loki's back and brought himself closer.

He grins wickedly as he stands in tips toes to touch their foreheads together and kisses the trickster softly.

Loki had imagined it to get much more physical than this. What he expected, was that he would end up laying down on the table without his clothes on. Though, he was enjoying this... activity as much as he would have enjoyed sex. It was such a quiet moment. Loki kissed him back as gently as Tony, fingertips absently playing with short locks of hair.

"You're so short..." he teased with a light chuckle.

"You're freakishly tall," he retorts, though he still has a smile. "And I'm not short, I'm fun-sized."

His right hand slips from the others. It goes to cup Loki's cheek as he steals a chaste kiss. He didn't want to move, didn't want to suggest anything, lest they end up back to the way they were before. But as long as they were talking...

Of course he still preferred this. He was fine with just kissing.

Easily wrapping his long legs around Tony's waist, Loki pulled him as close as he could, and still he didn't release the hold so that he wouldn't move away.

"I'm not tall. I am right." he responded. One of his hands was still in Tony's hair, the other was caressing lazily his shoulders. "Though, you surely are fun size. There is a lot to laugh about it." He continued teasing.

Tony only rolls his eyes and tugs on a chunk of black hair gently. He buries his face into Loki's neck once more returning to place more butterfly kisses there, working up to bite playfully at the very fleshy crook of his neck. Fingers slip under the god's shirt to grasp at soft skin and lips skim across collar bones.

"Loki," he breathes, going to say something, but he can't actually bring himself to.

Even if the tug was so light it didn't really affect Loki in the slightest, he anyway threw his head back a little as if he was following that hand, a very pleased smile making its way to his lips to all those kisses.

He sighed lightly at the feeling of warm and soft lips on his skin, his whole body warming up at the feeling. He hummed at the gentle bite and Tony's fingers touching him so gently and yet skillfully, and he unconsciously leaned in the touch for feeling it better.

"I'm listening." His voice is very light and barely audible.

He smiles at the sigh. Tony hitches up Loki's top as he runs his hands up the other man's back.

"Let's go somewhere more comfortable than a kitchen counter."

Because despite him not wanting to push so far (they had in fact only just made up), the way Loki was pressed in to him; or the other way around, he wasn't picky; was starting to do things to him. Not that those things hadn't already been done. Besides make up sex was the best.

Loki arched his back a the touch of those warm fingers, his eyes shutting closed as he bit down on his own bottom lip. It was just a light touch, how could this feel so good already?

"We should," he agreed, but still he didn't let him go. He just held him tighter. "Don't you dare saying I'm heavy again," he warned him, implying Tony would have to carry him.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he says as he slides Loki off the counter.

One hand settles under him to hold most of his weight, the other presses into the small of his back to hold him closer. Although at this point the only space between them is their clothes. He walks Loki expertly toward his bedroom, never once stumbling. His mouth never leaves Loki's throat for long.

Once Tony pulled him up, Loki just looked down at him as he walked, or closed his eyes any time he had the mortal's lips on him.

Somehow, he had started trusting him enough to not need to check where he was going.

Tony lays the god on the bed when they reach it.

Loki didn't let him go either, nonchalantly pulling him down as well. He only gave him a smile before he leaned in, kissing him again, while his own cold hands moved under the man's shirt, caressing his warm skin.

Tony shivered at the touches, clutching Loki closer to him in an attempt to keep warm, albeit it was a futile attempt. He'd forgotten how cold Loki's skin could be.

Loki's shirt is hitched up again though this time Tony pulls it completely off. The skin he finds beneath the thin shirt is cool too but his lips dance across anyway. He takes a nipple into his mouth, his teeth scraping at the sensitive flesh and his tongue swirling around to soothe.

Loki had always loved control. He liked to have everything under his control, which was why he hated fighting under Thor's orders. Though, now, he was enjoying rather much giving Tony all the freedom he wanted, without asking him or giving him orders.

The God looked down at the man while he pleasured him, still pulling up his shirt as he did. He didn't want to interrupt his wonderful ministrations, he would take it off when Tony pulled away.

Tony stopped his pleasuring for a moment. His mouth made a wet noise as he pulled away. Blowing cool air on the flesh his mouth just vacated making Loki shiver, he leaves his head up long enough to allow Loki to pull his shirt off and then he attacks the other side with as much vigor. His hands trace down Loki's body, his short nails scratching at the tricksters toned stomach, before they start to unfasten Loki's pants.

Suddenly, Loki flips them over so he's straddling Tony waist. Tony gasps, before he chuckles. That didn't happen too often.

Loki's finger tips leave icy hot trails down the mortal's chest, pausing to tweak his nipples, before they settle to remove his belt and unfasten his pants.

When the god started on his belt, Tony returned to undoing Loki's own pants finally managing to get then done -or rather undone- and shoved at them. His hips rise to allow Loki to remove his and then his hands are all over the god's chest and back, lacing themselves into long hair as he kisses Loki deeply.

Loki gently pushed him away and shook his head lightly, batting at Tony's hands.

"No rush," he says, leaning once more but for a gentler kiss that lasted only a second. He moved lower, then, gentle kisses lay down on the man's throat, his collarbone and down his chest.

He stopped a moment when he found the arc reactor. He looked at it, traced the outline with his fingertip. Tony Stark's heart was right in front of him.

Tony froze when Loki reached the arc reactor. It wasn't that he didn't trust Loki - for some incorrigible reason he did now - but he'd had some bad experiences with people and the reactor before. It would be too easy for someone to twist and pull. But then Loki kissed it and he relaxed again. Even though he technically couldn't feel it he still arches towards the touch.

Loki tongues at the scars, pepper kisses around the reactor. It was far beyond erotic, _sensitive_, the touches around the reactor. No other lover he'd taken had ever dared to touch it, least of all Pepper, and now that Loki had he had no idea why they never did.

For a moment, Loki looked up at him with a smile. He was having so much for so little. What would happen, if he dared more? His fingertips shone with a green light, his magic getting under the man's skin, reaching in a deeper way to the most delicate spots of his whole body.

Meanwhile, he had moved lower enough on the man's body, brushing all along his length with his lips, again and again, with the tip of his tongue as well.

Tony's mouth gaped open as he takes a heavy breath. He finds it difficult to move, he's so overridden with pleasure. The green light of Loki's finger tips mingles with the blue of the arc reactor and cast strange shadows around the room. He shivers.

A breathy moan escapes his lips as Loki kisses and licks him, he certainly wasn't expecting that from the god that had such an aversion to Tony attempting the night before. But it felt so damn good. What had changed?

His fingers find their way back into Loki's hair, and just rest.

Keeping his hands still on Tony's body, with his magic settling into him deeply, Loki gave a quick glance up to see the pleasure on the man's face, and then returned to what he was doing. Simple teases, never giving enough to make him completely enjoy it, and not less enough to not give him much importance. Enough to drive him insane, though.

Looking up at him, he moved his tongue to tease the sensitive tip of his arousal, moving slowly all around it.

And it does. Drive him insane that is. Tony's completely lost himself in the pleasure at this point. Why hadn't they done this _before_? And Loki was only teasing him. But - oh! - that wasn't a tease. His hands clench into Loki's messy hair on their own accord.

_Silvertongue_, he remembers. They call him The Silvertongue. And now he knew why.

He lifts his head enough to peer down at Loki's ministrations and then he's caught by emerald eyes.

"Oh, god, _Loki_," he moans.

Right when tony looked to him, he took him deep into his mouth tarnished with a mischievous grin, sucking and licking, his tongue moving all around the man's arousal. Slow movements, up and down, his eyes still focusing on Tony's expressions.

It didn't last long, and he pulled away and returned to face Tony, a smile still on his lips. His mouth was replaced by his hand, skillful fingers moving on the mortal's shaft, while the God moved to nibble playfully on his neck.

Tony whimpered at the loss, although Loki's long elegant fingers were doing an excellent job. He hums, with pleasure, now with a slightly clearer head and reaches for Loki's pants. He suddenly found it incredibly unfair that the god had more clothes on than him.

Loki chuckled absently at Tony's sudden remembering the God still had his pants on. He had forgotten about it as well, actually. He let him go for helping him removing his pants and threw them to the floor once he was off of them.

He returned to lay down then, pulling Tony back on top of him before kissing him once more, his legs returning around the mortal's waist.

Tony took their time apart for granted and reached into his bedside drawer for a condom and lube. His hips thrust up, looking for friction and finding the delicious feel of Loki's own erection slotting perfectly against his. A moan escapes illicitly from somewhere deep within him. Loki's own moans sounding like a much sexier echo.

The god, wanting more, grinds his hips up, needing the friction, though wanting the pressure somewhere else.

Tony understood quite well what Loki wanted and reached for the bottle he'd grabbed previously. Squirting some on his fingers, he remembered to warm it slightly, before he brought his hand down between them. He follows the circle of muscle, before pressing a finger in. All the while, using his mouth to leave behind gentle kisses on his collar bone.

Loki never opened his eyes. He just wanted to feel him.

Moaning, he pushed himself more on that finger, his inner muscles clenching tightly around it, while his hands moved to run through Tony's hair.

Tony adds a second finger and then a third when he feels Loki's ready. Loki's little moans and movements are breathtaking from Tony's point of view, and the face of pleasure he sees when glances up...

If it wasn't for the very real body clutching to him, he'd have never believed he could bring a god to such a point. His free hand prepares himself as he pulls his fingers out.

"Are you ready?" he manages.

He breaths heavily in answer. He needed it, he needed more, and he wanted it, and if he was just asked, he might even beg. Yes, he, Loki Laufeyson, begging. He might gladly do it.

"Please, Tony..."

Tony didn't waist a second, pushing into Loki at once, moaning at the feeling of the tight heat around him.

"God, Loki," he breaths into the trickster's ear as he gives them a moment to adjust. But soon enough he was moving again.

Still a steady speed, though slower than their first time. For some reason, Tony thought this time was different. More intimate in a way, less spurred from teasing and incorrigible sexual tension brought on by something different.

He captures Loki's lips in a slow, tantalizing kiss. It was passionate, and wonderful, and yet somehow sweet at the same time. All Loki could do was kiss him back and hold him tightly, and give everything he could in that kiss, since now he couldn't do much from that position.

Tony tilts Loki's hips to get a better angle and aims for that spot he can drive Loki crazy with. He hums and murmurs a mantra of the god's name as he hides his face in the crook of the trickster's neck.

One hand rests on the side of Loki's neck and the other is between them wrapped around Loki's member stroking in time with his thrusts. This time he doesn't care who comes first, as long as it ends with a happily ever after for both of them.

Loki kept his eyes tightly closed to feel everything, his arms and legs tightly wrapped around the man as well. He tried to not scratch too much, though. Not this time that everything seemed to be... better.

Despite all his attempts to stay calm, when Tony's warm hand was wrapped around him too, he moaned and buried his face in the man's neck. He started thrusting into Tony's hand, at the same time meeting each of his thrusts, and he was going completely insane.

"Tony-" he moaned, trying to warn the man, but before he could even finish speaking, he reached his longed for orgasm in the mortal's hand with a last, needy moan.

Tony, seemingly, tumbles over the edge as Loki does, lost in the actions, and he does so with a cry of the god's name spilling from his lips. After riding out the aftershocks, he rolls over to the side and unlike the last time, he does wrap an arm around Loki's slender waist, ignorant of the mess covering them for the moment. He pulls himself close enough to whisper in Loki's ear.

"Don't you dare move, I'll be right back."

True to his word he's only gone a moment before he comes back wielding a warm washcloth to clean them of their sticky mess. When he returned, Loki gave him a lazy smile and took the washcloth from his hands for cleaning himself.

Tony takes the washcloth back once Loki's done, cleans himself and then tosses the wet rag somewhere. It landed on the floor with a splat.

He pulls Loki to him then, one arm wrapped around the god's shoulders, the other draped across his waist. He presses a lazy kiss to Loki's lips briefly. It was different this time, Tony had long noticed that, though he doesn't say anything; not willing to break the spell of the moment. The comforter is pulled up to shield them from the cooler air, and Tony leans into his pillows wanting to stay in that moment.


	17. Chapter 17

_Okay, so, basically there's nothing too exciting for me to say. Just a fair warning, there's a brief mention of self-harm in this chapter right at the beginning and really I'm just dancing around the topic now. One day I'll face it._

* * *

Loki stood when Tony was asleep, but only for putting on something that would cover those scars. Since he couldn't find his own shirt, he borrowed Tony's long sleeved one and put it on, returning to the bed then, and curling up against the man, his fingertips lazily tracing lines on the man's body until he woke up again.

He didn't sleep, though, he was not tired enough.

Tony awakes a short time later, feeling refreshed with his short nap. He smiles and snuggles into the warmish body beside him, his knee slotting between Loki's.

"Good morning," he murmurs despite the fact that he knows it's far from morning. "Didn't mean to fall asleep on ya." He presses his nose into Loki's hair and takes a deep breath.

"I doubt it's morning," he said with a lazy smile, keeping his eyes on his own hand tracing lines on Tony's chest. "I would have left if I wanted, there is nothing to worry about." He looked up at him, throwing his arm around Tony's chest.

Tony smiles back. "You're wearing my shirt," he points out tugging on the fabric.

"I am. I couldn't find mine." He chuckled. Even if he was not about to sleep, and he was just relaxing there, it was rather comfortable, and he didn't feel like he should move away or anything.

A sudden thought blossoms, and Tony slides the sleeve up. He hadn't been paying attention enough earlier, finding himself more about trying to pleasure Loki than anything else, to see.

He wasn't entirely sure those scars from the days earlier would still be there, and most certainly not where they came from, but there they were just hidden by his shirt, a sharp contrast to Loki's pale, alabaster skin. He brings Loki's wrist to his lips and presses a kiss there.

Despite that kiss, Loki quickly took his hand back, pulled down the sleeve again, pushed away the blankets and sat up on the edge of the bed, looking around for his clothes.

Tony frowned as Loki pulled away. He sits up as well, moving closer.

"Hey," he says softly, reaching for the god. "Don't go." His fingers wrap around the top of Loki's arm gently. "What did I do?"

He couldn't have ruined this already. It wasn't possible.

"Loki, I-I'm sorry, whatever I did, I'm sorry." His voice was gentle, soft, concerned.

Okay, so no scars. He was supposed to ignore them. He could do that.

Loki heaves a sigh, dropping his head.

"Not a question, Anthony. _Not one,_" he said before he lay back down on the bed.

"Wasn't planning on it," he says as he pulls Loki back towards him. "It's not any of my business."

He burrows his face into Loki's hair once more. It's a long moment before he decides to speak.

"I do have one question though, not about _that_. But I wanted to know what changed. What happened between us...?" And he meant more than the sex, he meant the sudden nicety between them. "I mean, I'm gone for a month, and then _suddenly_ we're wrapped in a cocoon of emotion. It's different. A good different, though," he says as an afterthought.

"If you don't know, why should I?"

Tony gave a lazy shrug. "I don't know. Just thought I'd ask." He tightens his arms around Loki's waist, pulling the god closer to him. "But you noticed too, yeah? It wasn't just me."

"It wasn't just you," he confirmed with a nod.

He presses a kiss to Loki's neck and Loki purrs. "You're still wearing my shirt," he says slipping one of his hands beneath the hem and splaying his fingers out on the toned flesh he found beneath. "I kinda want it back."

"If you want it, you will have to take it off of me," he responded, casually throwing his long leg across the man's waist while he absently drew some abstract figure on his chest.

Tony chuckles as he seals their lips with a kiss. Grabbing the bottom of his shirt, he lifts it up and over Loki's head, breaking the kiss to do so.

"Thanks," he says rolling away from the trickster.

He holds the clothing close to his chest as he does. Shaking the shirt out, he fixes it so it's right side out and pulled it over his head.

"I was getting a little chilly there," he says teasingly with a small smile spreading over his lips.

As soon as Tony was dressed again, Loki leaned over, grabbing his arm and pulled him back down on the bed, so that he could have back his comfortable position.

"Is it because of my skin?"

Tony smiles a little bit.

"Partly," he admits. "But I also don't have the heat on as high as I usually would. So it's already cold. Plus it's snowing. Or at least cold enough to snow. But I like how your skin is colder than normal." He was rambling, he knew, but he often did.

"Is my skin hot to you?" he wonders.

"Incredibly hot. Not enough to be a torture, though."

It was a pleasant warmth, actually. He was just like a fireplace in winter, and being always so cold, some warmth was pleasant. Not at all like that warmth Thanos used to 'persuade' him to follow his orders, that hadn't been pleasant at all.

"Oh. Well, that's good to know. That it's not torturous, I mean."

Kinda like how Tony felt about Loki's skin though. It was jumping in the pool on a hot summer's day; cold at first but the longer you're in it, the better it feels. And after a week of nightmares featuring that cave in Afghanistan, cuddling up to Loki felt amazing. His thumb rubs little circles into the God's flesh and he hums softly.

Loki sighed, his eyes closing again as he relaxed against the man.

Tony snuggles closer and pulls the blanket up further so it would cover their shoulders, or at least his. It was still cold.

The last time he'd spent time after like this... Well it had been a while. He and Pepper had long lost this before they had split. He missed it.

And maybe he enjoyed this more because it was less complicated. More intimate than a one night stand, but simpler than a full time relationship. But maybe he didn't enjoy it as much because it _was_ more intimate than a one night stand but simpler than a full time relationship.

_Not like it really matters_, he thinks as he closes his eyes again.

And besides, Loki was a fantastic lover.

Loki was feeling cuddly. It was something he had always enjoyed by staying in bed all the time with his lover, having the chance to relax and go for a silly behavior, almost superficial. Just relax and enjoy some time together.

His hand moved from Tony's chest to his shoulder and up his neck, moving then through short, wild locks. He liked Tony's hair. He didn't know why, but he liked it.

Tony hummed at the feeling of Loki's hand ghosting across him until his fingers were on his scalp, playing with his hair. A tiny grin forms on his lips, his eyes still closed. It felt nice.

Wonderful, if he had to choose a word, it would certainly be wonderful. It wasn't the first time that evening he noticed Loki playing with his hair.

"Now look who has a thing for hair." He blinks his eyes opened and tilts his head so he can stare down to Loki and still have the god play with his hair.

"I have a thing for your hair. It's soft and it has a nice smell," Loki responded, not even looking at Tony while he spoke, he just looked at his own hand while playing with the man's hair.

"We will have to stand sooner or later," Loki muttered absently after a silent moment, though not really in the mood for moving, less than ever when they were so covered, and there was so much snow outside. He liked snow. They could go out if they didn't know what to do.

"I'm too comfortable to stand," Tony mock complains.

_And I'm afraid this will go away if I do_, he thinks to himself. It was uncanny but true.

"Besides, there's not much to do out there." Not together at least. "Nothing fun. You don't want to watch movies or build a snowman and a snowball fight is off the table."

It might (_ha_!), probably was, quite presumptuous of him to assume they'd continue to spend their time together outside of the bedroom. They hadn't before. Why would they start now?

"Mh," Loki responded.

Moving his hand back to Tony's chest, he tapped absently on his skin while thinking to what they could do. If he agreed with the snowman, he would cheat. He knew he would. He was a Frost Giant, it would be as easy as a snow fight.

"I could take watching a movie, if you pick a very good one." Loki looks up at him with a questioning look. He didn't really know Tony's tastes, after all.

Tony's eyes brighten because (ha!) it's a small victory.

"Well, your definition of good might be completely different from my definition of good." He takes his hand and lays it on top of Loki's on his own chest. "But I could show you my movie collection and you can pick out one that appeals to your tastes," he says as he twists their fingers together.

"I have never seen a movie, Anthony. I wouldn't really know what to pick. Though, for as long as it is not some silly love story, it should be okay." He shrugged.

"The only silly romances would be left over from Pepper," he tells. He tilts his head slightly away from Loki. "We don't have to leave the bed, if you don't want to." Tony didn't want to himself. He brings their hands up to rest beside his head. "We could lay right here and watch it on the screen over there," he offers.

Loki pouted slightly and leaned over as well for reaching him once more, his teeth returning to nibbling softly on warm skin.

"Yes, please. I don't really want to move." He agreed. It sounded nice, laying there, in the warmth, while watching a movie and the snow falling out of the window.

Tony smiles and snuggles closer to the god, enjoying the little nibbling that he was doing. He calls out to JARVIS to start a movie. He didn't really have a particular one in mind. He simply wanted to enjoy the time spent cuddling close to Loki, and not having to deal with responsibilities.

Loki didn't really care about the movie. It was just an excuse to keep on staying together in such a peaceful way. If they didn't have to move from the bed, better. He didn't look at the screen or what was upon it, he kept his eyes closed, or he looked at Tony, and closed them again then.

"Tony?" he called, looking back up at him.

"Hmm?"

_Tony_. It sounded terrible. Cutting off names like that was so _disrespectful_... And yet it came spontaneous calling him like that. When he turned and looked at him, Loki gave him a light smile.

"Kiss me."

Tony smiles back at Loki. He raises his brow at Loki but doesn't say anything. Who was he to argue if the god wanted a kiss?

When Tony leaned towards him, Loki leaned as well, his hand returning to hold the mortal's hair. When their lips met softly for a slow and gentle kiss, he smiled and pulled Tony closer.

He didn't know why, but he liked kissing him. His lips were warm and soft. Maybe it was because of that.

Tony smiles into the kiss. He enjoyed kissing Loki too. Or maybe he just enjoyed Loki.

Either way, he pulls the trickster on top of himself as he deepens the kiss, less because he wanted to take the kiss further, and more because he wanted the god as close to him as he could.

The god slipped one of his legs between Tony's for being more comfortable, and pushed his long hair on one side to not have it in the way. He nibbled playfully on the mortal's bottom lip, moving closer to him.

Tony hummed with enjoyment, his fingers flexing on the pale alabaster skin of the Asgardian. He smiles again as he pulls away to look at the god fully. A calloused hand cups Loki's cheek and his thumb strokes absently.

"You're beautiful," he murmurs.

He grinned at the compliment and lay his head back on Tony's shoulder.

"I am totally aware of that."

Tony laughs softly and rolls his eyes.

"Of course you'd say that. Although, you have every reason to." Absently he runs his fingers through Loki's hair as he return to pretending to pay attention to the movie.

Loki grinned and closed his eyes again. He knew he was good looking, often it had been proved to be a powerful weapon for him to use, but Tony was not bad at all to look at either.


End file.
